


The Galarian Expedition

by Monika-s Moniker (Dan_Francisco)



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Adventure, Aged-Up Character(s), F/F, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pokemon Journey, Rivals to Lovers, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23451442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dan_Francisco/pseuds/Monika-s%20Moniker
Summary: Monika had thought that her chances of becoming a Champion ended when she was defeated in the German Minor Leagues. An endorsement from the Galarian League's own Kabu, however, sets into motion a series of new challenges in Galar. With her three friends - Minh Linh, Adriane Nascimbene and Zoya Zvaigzne - by her side, Monika begins a new path to become Champion of the Galar League.
Relationships: Mary | Marnie/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 9





	1. The Take Off and Landing of Everything

**Author's Note:**

> All Pokemon names are written in German, since that's what Monika speaks as a first language. Thus, with each chapter that introduces "new" Pokemon, I'll provide their English to German translation in the notes. If there is no translation, assume it's the same as its English name.
> 
> Bronzel: Bronzor  
> Woingenau: Wobuffett  
> Zwirrfinst: Dusknoir  
> Letarking: Slaking  
> Tentoxa: Tentacruel  
> Lektroball: Electrode  
> Smogmog: Wheezing  
> Stahlos: Steelix

_“Welcome to Kaiserstadt Stadium!”_ the announcer said. Monika couldn’t help but stare at the lights, the giant screens that displayed local Fighting-type gym leader Saifullah and his team of expert Pokemon, watch the gym mascot do a dance and pump up the crowd. Dad had been saving up for tickets to this, a special treat for her tenth birthday. Six challengers were set to go up against Saifullah today, each one attempting to prove their seriousness to advance to the next gym, display that their skills as trainers was unmatched. Monika wished she could let Bronzel see this – it loved seeing matches on TV, and seeing it live was unmatched so far.

The stadium was packed this evening, full of fans of both Saifullah’s and the six challengers that were appearing today. Truthfully, Monika hadn’t kept up with who they were. She was more interested in following the exploits of Sabrina in the Indigo League than anything else. Who _couldn’t_ enjoy her style, between her excellent use of Psychic Pokemon and the challenge she presented to prospective trainers? It was a style Monika had wanted to emulate ever since she learned she could be a Pokemon trainer.

_“Ladies and gentlemen,”_ the announced said, his voice booming and mixing with the heavy bass beats that played over the stadium’s loudspeakers. _“It’s_ _ **that time.**_ _He’s the Black Belt champion who’s trained all across the world, from Kanto to Paris. He’s the man who’s brought flaming fists of fury and kung-fu kicks to Kaiserstadt. Get on your feet and make some noise for Saifullah!”_

With dimmed lights, airhorns for days, and a puff of steam, Saifullah entered the stadium, waving to the ecstatic crowd that enveloped him. Truthfully, Monika didn’t even remember the names of the challengers. Did they matter, when Saifullah stood proud like a Spartan? Who could challenge him and win?

Soda in hand and chocolate-covered peanuts in her lap, Monika found herself unable to tear her eyes off the battles unfolding in front of her. This was what she wanted to do with her life, it was clear – become a Pokemon trainer, and take on as many challenges as she could. She’d work her way to beating every single champion possible, all with her trusty Bronzel by her side.

* * *

_Fifteen years later…_

A lot had changed since that day that Monika had gone to see Saifullah, the first time of many up until his ousting as Kaiserstadt gym leader. First of all, _she_ had changed. Way back then, she was a boy, some kid who didn’t know what she really was until well after growing up and finding out it wasn’t normal to feel like she was in the wrong body. Joining the German Army had provided her with one part of the sense of adventure she wanted, but leaving proved to be better for her, mentally and physically. Since then, she’d reconnected with Adriane Nascimbene, her childhood friend from Kaiserstadt She had unlikely new friends by her side in the train to Motostoke, those being Zoya Zvaigzne and Minh Linh. Zoya was a Latvian special forces marksman, someone that way back in the days of her time in the Heer she had looked up to. Minh she had met at university, when Minh had done a semester in Germany abroad.

Her Pokemon still stood by her side, having grown from a single Bronzel to a strong Bronzong still bearing the childhood nickname of Mr. Good, a Woingenau she had named Innokentiy, her Zwirrfinst, Glaz, a Letarking named Hans, a Tentoxa nicknamed Veronika, and her Lektroball, Lev. If the train wasn’t so small, she almost wanted to let one of them out and stretch for a bit, but right now, keeping them in their Pokeballs, which themselves were stowed neatly away in the pockets of her old Heer combat trousers, would have to do.

“So, Kabu, huh?” Adriane said, looking up from her book. “What do you think made him decide to endorse you?”

“I don’t really know,” Monika said, shrugging. She brushed locks of bleached white hair away from her face, frowning when it just went right back down to where it was before. “I mean, I heard he likes people with talent, but… I don’t know if that’s me.”

Zoya gave her a strange look, arching an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t that be you? You dominated the German minor league.”

“But I never got to the Majors,” Monika reminded her. “What’s _that_ prove?”

“Maybe it doesn’t prove anything,” Adriane said. “I’ve seen you fight, you’re a good trainer, Monika.”

Monika leaned back, staring out the window as Galar’s countryside passed by. The German National League was one thing, but Galar’s was rumored to be top-tier. It wasn’t just that the best trainers and most well-known among them were the kind of people who had access to the world’s best information and training methods, it was that they were also so stupidly rich they could do anything. The only thing Monika could claim to be was a lucky girl from Kaiserstadt who’d gone to Afghanistan a few times and survived. She didn’t have the money, the background, the family connections that a lot of these people did. Her eyebrow twitched, a sure sign a headache was coming on. Maybe she was overthinking it all, psyching herself out before anything happened. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened.

“Snap out of it!” Minh said sharply, frowning as she stared at Monika. “You _always_ got that look on your face at the University, and I won’t let you worry yourself to death here!”

“You’re probably right,” Monika admitted. “I don’t know, this is going to be a lot for me.”

“No matter what, we’re here,” Zoya said, smiling warmly.

Monika sighed, nodding. Whether she liked it or not, Zoya was right. They’d be there, thick and thin. The train began to slow down – they must be arriving at the Motostoke station. She started to retrieve her bag and charger, preparing to face the world once more. Well, at least it could be worse. It could be Afghanistan.

* * *

Motostoke was a city of progress. The massive gears that powered the city’s steam turbines, which generated enough electricity to power not just Motostoke but nearby villages as well, could be seen from nearly any point in the city. They were so well-integrated with the rowhouses that dotted each street, the old apartments that rose up like juts of jagged brick and steel from the ground, that Monika could easily believe they had always been there. The air smelled like a thousand cars and trucks, all spitting out gas as thick as Smogmog’s noxious fumes combined with oil and an oddly sweet scent that emanated from a nearby cafe. She looked to the upper tier of Motostoke, where the eponymous stadium stood and broke the skyline, reaching up as if to touch the sky itself. Her endorsement letter from Kabu had told her that in order to fully compete in the Galar league, she’d have to register here in Motostoke, and then it was off to start competing.

The sights of Motostoke were something to behold itself. Minh was already making plans to stop at every fashion boutique they came across, eager to see how Galarian fashion compared to the Vietnamese fashion industry she had grown up with. Zoya wanted to take time in the Budew Drop Inn and plan out a jogging route to see the best sights Motostoke had to offer, while Adriane had hopes of walking through the city park. But for Monika, the only goal she had right now was registering. The four of them meandered through Motostoke, haphazardly making their way through the city’s confusing levels and winding towers, with the stadium just barely out of sight.

By the end of an hour, their feet hurt as even Zoya had managed to tire out, but they did find their way to the stadium. There must have been hundreds of people here, which didn’t much surprise Monika. After all, Motostoke was where tons of people got their start, and also where a lot of people’s paths ended.

“Well, this is it,” Monika said, adjusting her rucksack. “Zoya, can you take my stuff to the hotel? I don’t wanna lug this shit around in there.”

“Sure thing,” Zoya said, grabbing the rucksack’s strap from her. “Good luck in there, yeah?”

Monika laughed, smiling. “It’s just some paperwork and pictures. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Minh frowned, furrowing her brow. “All sorts of things? You’re doing all of this in English, not German. I can’t tell you how nervous I was when I was at university.”

“I’ll be fine,” Monika said, waving her off. “I better get going if I want to be done quick, though. See you guys at the hotel?”

“We’ll meet you there,” Adriane said.

With a resolute nod and a final wave goodbye, Zoya, Adriane and Minh headed off to the Budew Drop Inn as Monika turned to face the Motostoke Stadium. Time to join the line and slowly shuffle through the motions.

The line was long, about as long as she remembered similar lines being when she first joined the Heer. When she finally transferred from standing outside to heading into the stadium itself, it was almost like night and day. The shining bright sky outside faded out like a bright light, replaced by the cool dimness of the interior. One by one, people were called up, sometimes several times since the stadium’s staff had put on loud, booming electronic music, probably as a means to hype people up. The closer she got to the front desk, where Galarian League officials clad in black, white and red uniforms checked people off, the tighter the knot in her chest had gotten. She knew this feeling well. It was the inherent _“_ _what the Hell am I doing?”_ feeling she had gotten when she first signed away four years of her life to Germany. It was the same feeling that had enveloped her when she first stepped into a Marder IFV. The exact same realization when she was thousands of kilometers from home, in a country that didn’t even want her there.

Eventually, her name came up and she stepped forward. The league official looked her up and down, and handed her a form. Standard things, name, sex, birthplace, all the sorts of things she figured would be on here already. It also asked for what number she’d like to use, and the Pokemon she was using. Well, alright, that’s pretty easy. Monika jotted down all the pertinent information, making sure to write cleanly and neatly so that her chickenscratch could be read by literally anyone. She handed the form back to the official, placing his pen next to it as well. He grabbed it almost immediately, about to turn until he stopped. “Hey, no nicknames,” he said in English. “What’s a Zwirrfinst? Do this again.”

Monika frowned, about to argue until she realized what was going on. “Oh! I’m sorry, I wrote them all in German, didn’t I?”

“Oh, that’d explain it,” the official said. “Alright, yeah, I’ll see if there’s someone who can translate this. Okay, go through that door there to get fitted for your uniform.”

He pointed her to a door, where a handful of other hopeful challengers were already heading through. Monika followed them, where each person was paired up with a tailor and handed various bits of uniform to try on. Her uniform test kits didn’t have her preferred number, 76, but the tailor assured her that these were just to get measurements in and make sure everything fit. Each uniform was backed in white, with blue epaulettes, a black collar, and the Galarian League’s logo front and center. A preview of her uniform, provided via a tablet, showed Monika what her expected final uniform would look like when all was said and done. Her first and last name were printed on the back, 76 stamped below it, with red, black and blue accents on the sides of both the top and bottom. She was in luck today – her uniform was ready to go with only a handful of alterations. Monika wasn’t terribly worried though – even if they had somehow gotten it wrong, she was sure Minh could easily help her fix it.

Next came the plethora of pictures. The league officials wanted a veritable collection of them. Dozens of just herself were taken, from headshots to official promo shots should she obtain 5 badges. They asked her to release her Pokemon from their balls and staged all sorts of pictures, from serious, determined ones to goofy photos that would probably be used to show her playful side. It felt like it was taking hours, and she was immensely glad that her largest Pokemon was Glaz. She shuddered to think what it’d be like if she had a Stahlos.

After what felt like an hours-long photo session, she was formally released and given her official Badge holder. This she could use to prove at an instant anytime and anywhere that she was a Gym challenger, and how much progress she made if she was out of uniform. As she stepped out, a final league official informed her that in four days, they’d have a backup uniform for her to use if she wanted one.

And with that, Monika was shown outside, where the harsh sunlight of Motostoke had been replaced by a rain storm that enveloped the entire city. The thundering rain was stronger than any she remembered experiencing in her lifetime, and stepping out into it felt almost like endangering her own life to the intense downpour.

“Do you need an umbrella?” a rough, gravely voice asked. She turned around to see _Kabu_ of all people standing behind her, holding a spare umbrella in one hand as he unfurled one of his own in the other. Immediately, the rain began bouncing off of it as he stepped out, still offering the umbrella to her. “This is only the first step, Challenger Monika,” he said. “It is up to you to go further.”

Involuntarily, she swallowed, returning his sharp nod. Had she gone back to standing at attention? Some things never changed, it seemed. “Yes, sir,” she said. “Thank you for endorsing me. I’ll do my best!”

“ _Wakarimasen,_ ” he said, staring back at her blankly.

Monika blinked. “I don’t-oh. I used German again, didn’t I?”

“Good luck on your journey, Challenger Monika. I will be watching your career with great interest.”

With that, Kabu headed off into the rain, no doubt to find somewhere in the rain to meditate and train himself further. Monika watched him walk away, before letting out a determined huff and heading to the Budew Drop Inn. Tomorrow, they’d set off towards Turffield, where Milo awaited her.


	2. Weather to Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika and her friends head to Turffield, preparing for the battle against Milo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kappalores: Ludicolo  
> Frosdedje: Frosslass

The next morning, Monika set out towards Turffield with Adriane, Minh and Zoya right behind her. A lot of walking was expected, and though the route wasn’t dangerous, it would surely take them the better part of three days to make it on foot. The rain had cleared up overnight, leaving the air around Motostoke feeling dense with the musty smell of oil, steam, and wet pavement mixing together as they headed out. The night had been fun – Monika modeled her new uniform and showed her friends the “good” pictures for most of the night, and they wondered which of her Pokemon would be considered her mascot and appear alongside her in promo material. Not one of them doubted she’d go far.

That said, Monika couldn’t help but worry as they made their way past Motostoke’s rows of brick houses. A handful of challengers had already made waves and were noticed by the news; the current Champion’s brother Hop, Bede who had been sponsored by the Chairman himself, and Marnie, the little sister of Spikemuth gym leader Piers. All three were considered excellent in their own right, with Hop not adhering to a specialization like Monika, Marnie specializing in Dark types, and Bede a known Psychic trainer. All were Galar natives. Was Monika somehow below them, because she wasn’t from Galar?

“Hey, you!” a voice called. At first, Monika didn’t even realize someone was talking to her until Zoya tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, with none other than Marnie before her. She stood with a pink backpack on her back, with tall boots on. A black studded jacket covered a short pink dress, accented with a choker that had the sigil of the Spikemuth Gym hanging loosely around her neck. She stared at Monika, almost as if sizing her up for something. “You’re that German girl, right?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me,” Monika said. “Marnie, right?”

Marnie nodded, extending a hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Good luck with the challenge, by the way. I hear Galar’s a lot different from Germany.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, shaking Marnie’s hand. Just as quickly as she offered it, Marnie withdrew her hand, walking off towards Turffield with a determined air to her.

“Huh,” Adriane said. “Wonder what that was about.”

“Guess she wanted to say hi?” Zoya speculated, shrugging. “Come on, let’s get moving. We’re burning daylight.”

Monika nodded, heading down the easy route to Turffield. The distance wasn’t too far, and her ruck had plenty of supplies just in case something truly bizarre happened and they needed to take far longer than normal to get to the town. Minh had made it a point to research every single gym leader in Galar, intent on helping Monika get the best chances of winning possible. Turffield was led by Milo, a Grass-type specialist that was rumored to be the easiest of the gym leaders to beat.

Right now though, Monika didn’t much care. She took in every breath of fresh air from the Galarian countryside, watched the sun light up each tree with a glow that was nearly right at home in Kaiserstadt. The air was cool, but not so cold that her jacket was too light. It felt like the entire world was ahead of her, and she could do anything, despite the anxiety that had taken over her mind and haunted her. She’d have to do her best, and definitely do everything she could to make sure her Pokemon were in top form. The competition this year wouldn’t just be tough, it was almost withering. There must have been at least two hundred trainers who all took the challenge, maybe even more.

Galar’s rolling hills and light forests felt like the same ones she had known in Kaiserstadt, back when she and Adriane had run around them as kids. Monika with her Bronzel and Adriane with her Roselia, they had spent so much time in the forests that most of the wild Pokemon there had learned not to tangle with them. She wondered if any of the local kids here did the same in Galar, or if that was something only she and Adriane had ever done. Monika couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Back then she and Adriane played around, staged mock battles with a grove of trees representing Kaiserstadt Stadium, but now in the Galarian woods, Adriane was far more interested in the Galarian Pokemon. Adriane took notes on everything she saw, consulting her Pokedex whenever an unusual Pokemon crossed her path or just to get her references right.

Soon, the woods turned to an open area, and they decided to break here for a while to rest their legs and have some food. Monika checked her watch – they had been walking for nearly three hours. Zoya slung her _veshmeshok_ off her back, untying the top and tossing out surplus Latvian rations to whoever wanted one. Monika took one that sounded appealing, but Minh opted to snack on a pack of salted nuts that she had bought the night before in the Budew Drop Inn. Adriane waffled on the idea of an MRE, but eventually took one anyway, just to see if it was worth the alternating hype and horror stories Monika and Zoya shared.

“So, Milo,” Minh said in between tossing nuts into her mouth. “What do you think? What’s your plan for beating him?”

Monika swallowed, shrugging. “I don’t have a type advantage on him. Probably going to have to have Veronika stay out, or at least only around long enough to lay down some toxic spikes. Other than that? I just have to hope that my team’s strong.”

“I mean, if he _is_ as easy to beat as they say,” Adriane said, shrugging, “then it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Monika said. “We’re still a long way from Turffield.”

They wrapped up the last of their meals, with one of the many pockets in Monika’s ruck providing a convenient place to store any trash or other debris until they could reach Turffield. The wind had picked up by now, blowing Monika’s jacket around and causing her hair, which she had done up in a ponytail today, to flutter about like a wind sock. Adriane tugged her jacket closer, trying to keep at least a little warmth in her. On the other hand, Zoya didn’t seem to much mind the wind, while Minh shivered as if she had been touched by her Frosdedje.

Monika couldn’t help but smile. It was exactly like Kabu had said – this was only the first step.

* * *

Turffield was the textbook definition of a sleepy little farming town. The massive stadium dwarfed the minuscule town square, easily standing at least four stories above the tallest building. This was where many a gym challenger began their journey, and even with the smell of small-town air and manure ever-present, Monika felt like she had planted her shoes firmly at right where she needed to be.

“Wow,” Zoya said, coughing. “It smells an awful lot like shit around here.”

Monika chuckled, looking out at the idyllic English-style cottages that dotted the area. If she was inclined to live in a small town, this would probably be the place to go. The Pokecenter stood in the middle of town, integrated so well with its neighbors Monika scarcely saw it. Next door to that was a hotel, with just enough people around and going about their day that Monika could tell there were actually people living here.

“I guess first thing’s first,” Adriane said. “We can get the hotel arranged if you want to register for the challenge, Monika?”

“Yeah, that should be fine,” she replied. “Who knows how long it’ll be, anyway.”

Her friends departed, and as they headed to the hotel Monika set forth towards Turffield stadium. Even from here, the gentle hills of Turffield sloped down to hold the stadium at the bottom of the valley, with a small line already forming on the stadium’s right-hand side. A large sign out front advertised season pass tickets for any Turffield resident to take advantage of – only £90 for first-in-line seating and a free drink. That seemed pretty good for a gym leader that seemed to perpetually lose, though almost everyone said it was because Milo was more concerned about making sure everyone had fun rather than beating challengers.

Either way, Monika headed into the line. The people ahead of her couldn’t have been any older than she was, not by much anyway. She had heard rumors while in Motostoke that she was one of the oldest challengers here, though she wondered how much of that was a product of Galar’s incredibly strict training culture. The line moved slowly, shuffling one by one as people picked out days to challenge Milo, either leaving looking determined or annoyed that they couldn’t do it sooner. By the time she had gotten up to the front, there remained only one day available for the taking this week, Saturday. Better to hang around Turffield for a day or two, and watch Milo battle.

Monika marked down the day, making sure to carefully listen to the league official’s instructions. She could only have one person on the floor in the gym with her, and she would have to present herself in uniform on the assigned day with her six Pokemon ready to go at the left side of the stadium, 11:30 AM sharp. No excuses for being late. It seemed simple enough, and even with a minor language barrier, Monika felt prepared. After all, what better way to spend time in Turffield than relaxing from a long march and studying up on Milo’s strategy?

She returned to the hotel after confirming the room with Zoya. The hotel in Turffield wasn’t as extravagant as the Budew Drop Inn, but it was still a nice place to stay regardless. It sure as hell beat some of the places that Monika had stayed in when she was still in the Army. She walked into the room, seeing that Zoya had already put her _veshmeshok_ at the end of a bed to claim one half for herself, while Minh and Adriane settled themselves on the other bed.

“Hey, Monika!” Minh said, smiling as she came in. “What time are you challenging Milo?”

“Saturday, third in line,” she replied, sliding off her rucksack. She put it at the end of the other bed next to Zoya’s _veshmeshok._ “Milo has challenge days on Wednesday and Friday, and Saturday caps off this week.”

She couldn’t afford much time to relax. Monika kicked off her boots, settling on the bed next to Zoya and pulling out a notebook. She had used this method in the German minor league as a way to keep herself appraised of potential issues heading into a match, of noting her Pokemon and what she anticipated her opponent would have, and devise strategies to counter an expected opponent’s moves. The best benefit of being in Galar was that they were televising their matches, and had such an impressive and open culture of giving away every detail about a trainer and their strategy.

“Did they tell you who else was challenging on Saturday?” Minh asked.

“No, I don’t think I’ll find out until day of.” Column 1. Her own Pokemon, with their strengths and weaknesses. The best thing she knew right now was that Milo was primarily a grass-type user, but that didn’t mean he had to have _only_ grass types. Perhaps he had some dual types, like a Kappalores. Anything was possible, and until she could either go to the stadium tomorrow to watch him face challengers or catch it on TV, she had to speculate. Another problem she was facing was that none of her Pokemon had an inherent type advantage over Milo. She had Pokemon who could resist grass type attacks, but that didn’t necessarily translate to effectively eliminating enemy Pokemon.

“I think we should relax a bit,” Monika said as she puzzled over possible ideas. “Watch Wednesday’s games here. Maybe go on Friday if any of you think seeing it in person would help any.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Zoya said, flipping through channels lazily. “His signature Pokemon is supposed to be a _Flapple_.”

Monika furrowed her brow, looking up from her notes. “A what?”

“I think our Pokedex calls it a Drapfel,” Adriane said, barely looking up from her book. “They’re not seen in Germany.”

Drapfel. Drapfel. She’d heard of this before. Putting down her notebook, Monika opened up her Pokedex, searching for the name. Grass and dragon type, known for being incredibly powerful in the right hands and hard to tame since it constantly sought out sweetness. As expected, Milo had to be a good trainer to get this under his control. It looked just like the apples Monika used to pick off the trees at home. Okay, slightly more difficult. Monika didn’t have anything that could easily counter this. If she came into this unprepared, this could go sideways incredibly fast.

“This is going to be a disaster,” Monika muttered, flopping on the bed. She sighed, undoing her hair from the ponytail and letting it fall free behind her. Maybe a change of pace would do, changing into some comfortable clothes and getting out of the same stuff she’d been wearing all day.

“Why do you say that?” Minh probed. “You’re a good trainer, you can do this.”

“Okay, you say that, but I don’t have a single type advantage over him,” Monika replied, brushing strands of rogue hair out of the way. “If anything, I have a type _dis_ advantage.”

Minh stared back, before rolling her eyes and swinging her legs off the bed. “Okay, Monika, listen to me. This self-doubt is not going to get you anywhere. You can _not_ walk into that stadium on Saturday and have these worries plaguing you.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?”

“I _know_ you know that,” Minh said. “Don’t interrupt me. I know how much your doubt can eat at you. You’ve been doing nothing but thinking about this battle ever since we left Motostoke, so _take a break._ After we watch the challenges Wednesday and you see how Milo fares against four challengers, _then_ you can start to worry.”

Monika sighed, slipping her glasses off and folding them up, placing them on the nightstand that divided the two beds from one another. Minh had a point, as much as she really didn’t want to admit it. The notebook in front of her sat there on her leg, almost as if taunting her. She really ought to sleep, take the night off and approach the problem from a new angle tomorrow. Either that, or just do the same thing all over again in the morning.


	3. Auftragstaktik

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika undertakes a recon mission to find out everything she can about how Milo battles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kleoparda: Liepard  
> Toxiquak: Toxicroak  
> Cottomi: Eldegoss  
> Irokex: Scrafty

Watching Wednesday night’s challenges didn’t add much to Monika’s understanding of Milo. Hop had ravaged Milo’s team, which did provide at least a small insight to his strategy, but it told nothing about Milo. The other challengers similarly took apart Milo’s team, leading to him handing out four badges that day. Was it a deliberate reservation on Milo’s part, or was he really just this easy to beat? Monika couldn’t tell, and that distressed her.

So, the only reasonable alternative was to go to the stadium herself on Friday, with Zoya and Minh with her to talk strategy and see if they could derive meaning out of the confusing intelligence that they had collected thus far. Zoya’s approach to these things was something Monika always appreciated, and despite not being much of a battler herself, Minh always had a talent for seeing strategies that – to Monika, at least – were opaque at best. General admission tickets proved to be cheap, for one of the Galar league’s stadiums at least, and since none of them planned to partake in any of the concessions, they only had the expense of the ticket weighing on them.

The stadium was heavily crowded, filled with what felt like half the population of Turffield inside it. Maybe it _was_ half. The stadium was as busy as she recalled Kaiserstadt stadium being all those years ago, when she was just a kid and the whole world seemed wide open to her. Banners proudly displayed Milo’s signature Pokemon, in various action poses and with stylized versions of the man himself flanking them. Food stands sold popcorn, boxes of candy, and bags of chips alongside bottles of soda and water, with the option for fountain drinks. She wasn’t sure, but there might have been more substantial food offered as well, and possibly even beer for fans that wanted to imbibe in that particular vice.

The three made their way into the stadium itself, where hundreds of rows of seats seemed to expand up into the far, dark reaches of the arena where the lights didn’t – and couldn’t – touch. The field upon which Milo and the trainers battled easily took up at least a full football field and a half, as if two had been stitched together and cobbled together to make one of the largest areas she’d seen. It easily outsized any stadium in Germany, but Monika figured that was probably part of the spectacle behind it. Already, the challengers were on the field, practicing with their Pokemon at different parts of the stadium. Even as high up as she was, Monika could spot Milo walking around, talking to different challengers. Was he offering a kind word before their battle, or just imparting some advice? She couldn’t tell.

“Hey, isn’t that Marnie?” Minh asked, tapping Monika’s shoulder and pointing to the far end of of the stadium. She didn’t have her dress or jacket on, but Monika could definitely recognize her hairstyle. Hard to hide those piercing eyes, too.

“Yeah, it is,” Monika said. “I didn’t know she was competing today.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. We can scout out Marnie’s team at the same time.”

It looked like Marnie had her Morpeko out, along with a Pokemon she didn’t recognize. Maybe it was some sort of Galarian-specific Pokemon?She definitely knew the Kleoparda on sight, as well as the Toxiquak that sparred with Marnie’s Morpeko. Decently-balanced team, especially given she focused on Dark-types.

A buzzer sounded. The time for warm-ups was over. One by one, the trainers returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs, as the league officials began to head out onto the turf. The call was made for the challengers to head into the locker room, to wait out the battles until their turn was up. The time was coming, any second now Milo would make his grand appearance and begin the challenges.

The lights went down. Milo’s personal cheer team, each in glittering green-colored uniforms, strutted out with signs as music began to play. The crowd went wild for him, even when they hadn’t seen Milo walk out yet. The stadium commentator began hyping up Milo’s entrance as a smoke generator started up. To the sound of a hype video, which boomed with each heavy bass beat, Milo walked out in a shower of lights and a puff of wispy smoke, greeted by the uproar of what had to be thousands of fans. Monika couldn’t help but wonder if one day, she’d have her own stadium like this, welcomed every day by as many or even more loyal fans.

Milo started it off with a t-shirt toss, lobbing commemorative free shirts out to random parts of the crowd in the lower stands. He seemed to revel in the attention, wearing a smile that was wider than any Monika had seen out of any person in her life. The more Monika looked at him, the more he seemed like a caricature than an actual person – between his impossibly wide and goofy smile, his muscles built upon one another to shape him up more like a circus strongman than a pushover gym leader.

The first challenger was a kid from Postwick, with a Galarian Pokemon she didn’t recognize as his only Pokemon. Unsurprisingly, Milo beat him outright, sending him off with words of encouragement and inviting him to come back in three days. Marnie was up next after Milo had been allowed to heal up his team. Monika made sure to pay close attention to the order Marnie sent her Pokemon out. Looked like she was sending out her Toxiquak first.

Milo sent out a Kappalores first, a change-up from his usual style. Tension filled the air as the referees ensured both trainer and Pokemon were ready, both sides sizing each other up and already formulating a strategy, while the crowd held its breath. The second the referees blew the whistle, the fight started. Toxiquak immediately drew its breath in, the bulbous red sac under its chin inflating. Blink of an eye later, purple liquid shot out at high speed from its mouth, covering Milo’s Kappalores in dark purple ooze, which clung to its fur and shook off as it performed an elaborate dance. This brought forth a rain cloud, contained to the stadium and pouring down rain immediately after. Roaring soon emanated as the two Pokemon cried out and the audience began cheering for their respective sides.

If Marnie or Milo were shouting out orders to their Pokemon, Monika couldn’t possibly hear them. She could see Marnie standing stoically, occasionally gesturing to her Toxiquak, while Milo seemed to have the same boundless excitable energy that consumed him before the battle began. Jets of water gushed out from Kappalores as it tried to track Toxiquak’s erratic movements, each one expertly dodged by Marnie’s Pokemon just as quickly as they came out. Eventually, Marnie’s Toxiquak closed the distance, and as arcs of electricity began to jump around its hand, it punched Kappalores right in the stomach with minimal effort.

At this, the crowd’s cheering overwhelmed all. Displays on the long ends of the stadium played a “super-effective hit” graphic, with an immediate instant replay as the referees called a whistle. The commentator informed them, over the noise and chaos, that Milo’s Kappalores was unable to battle further. In the span of mere minutes, Marnie had knocked out Milo’s first Pokemon with a brutal efficiency. Monika wondered if that strategy expanded to her other Pokemon.

Milo prepared a Pokeball, which revealed a Cottomi, incredibly small against Marnie’s Toxiquak. The second the whistle blew, signaling a resumption of the fight, Marnie’s Toxiquak moved first. Milo’s Cottomi quickly threw up a collection of cotton balls that emanated from its head. Standard defensive opening for Cottomi, if what Monika read about them in her Pokedex was correct. Monika watched Cottomi and Toxiquak spar with one another, a careful dance of lightning-fast attacks and evasive maneuvers, where Milo’s Pokemon preferred to use its voice as its weapon compared to Toxiquak’s all-out close-quarters brawl method of battling.

It looked like Marnie had given an order. Toxiquak held off its assault temporarily, locking a poison-infused fist back. That same fist flew out in a flash as Toxiquak tracked Cottomi, striking it with cold, brutal efficiency. Another “super-effective” graphic, and Cottomi tumbled around the arena like a strong wind had picked it up as the whistle blew. Cottomi was declared unfit to battle further. Marnie recalled Toxiquak, probably aiming to let it rest in case Milo brought out something a bit more serious.

The next round of Pokemon came out, Milo’s Drapfel and an Irokex for Marnie. This seemed more in line with what Monika expected of Marnie. Her Irokex must have elemental punches in mind, otherwise she didn’t see a reason to bring it out. Each time a lull came in the fighting, Milo’s cheer team came out to pump up the crowd. Now, they looked a bit less confident in Milo’s ability to win this battle. Already two of his Pokemon had been knocked out with relatively little effort, with the Pokemon responsible taking a break like a champion sitting on he bench to be cooled down by a water boy.

Milo’s Drapfel proved to be a more intimidating opponent than his Cottomi. It began by engaging in a self-aggrandizing display, crying so loud it shook Monika even from her distant seat in the stands. She could barely hear Minh and Zoya trading strategy theories next to her, shouting over the noise as Marnie’s Irokex began to close in, gearing up to start attacking. Before Irokex could connect a punch however, Milo’s Drapfel dodged out of the way, boxing its opponent’s ears and disorienting it. Monika blinked, feeling her head jerk back in surprise. That was _deceptive_ speed out of that thing, and combined with that sort of pumping up… it was a small wonder that Marnie’s Irokex was still standing.

Drapfel followed up this strike with a green-colored ball of light that flew at tremendous speed to Irokex, hitting it as it stood confused and clutching its head. The crowd roared louder than ever before, thrilled that Milo had turned this around so quickly. A whistle blow allowed Marnie time to formulate a new strategy, figure out how best to tackle the issue of Milo’s Drapfel. Monika couldn’t help but be curious – Marnie had to have known about this, or suspected it. After all, Piers had beaten Milo before, faced him constantly when challengers went to contend with Leon for his title, so why wouldn’t Piers tell Marnie everything he knew about Milo?

After a few moments of consideration, Marnie sent out her Morpeko. The diminutive Pokemon seemed almost like a cruel joke against Milo’s Drapfel, sending something this small and adorable to counter a Pokemon that had knocked out one of Marnie’s own so quickly. This cute facade quickly faded when the yellow part of its body darkened to a deep purple, growling with a rage that seemed unusual for the small thing. Monika had read about this – Morpekos were incredibly prone to becoming very aggressive when they were hungry and hadn’t had anything to eat in a while. Trainers were able to recognize this by the color of the Morpeko’s fur. Yellow and brown was considered the sign of a well-fed Morpeko, while purple and black was no friend to the novice trainer.

Marnie’s Morpeko charged forward recklessly, dodging Drapfel’s strikes with relative ease. Monika couldn’t help but be amazed, since in her experience, Pokemon blinded by rage usually didn’t consider dodging and evading incoming attacks. The cameras zoomed in on the plight of the enraged Morpeko, tracking it as two fangs made of blue energy formed in its mouth, opening as wide as its jaw possibly could. It leaped up, latching onto Drapfel’s arm and biting down as hard as possible. Monika didn’t need to hear Drapfel’s cries of pain to know that this was a severely effective move. The referees intervened as Morpeko continued to assault Drapfel, freezing its arm in place with each chomp.

“Let’s go,” Monika said, getting up as the cheer team started up again. “I think we’ve seen enough.” They left Turffield stadium’s chaos and energy, heading out to the night’s cool air and waning blue sky. People milled about outside, buying tickets or heading back home, and a gust of wind blew across the concrete plaza in front of the stadium. Monika tugged at her jacket, as if that’d help keep the wind away and eliminate any chills she had. What she had seen – out of both Marnie and Milo – played over and over in her head as she, Zoya and Minh headed back to the hotel. Monika honestly wasn’t sure how she had forgotten that poison-type moves were effective against grass, and the fact she _had_ bothered her.

“So, what’s your plan, Monika?” Zoya asked, rolling her neck.

Monika swallowed hard, trying and failing to visualize every option in front of her. “I think that I just need to rely on elemental punches,” she finally answered. “If there wasn’t such a risk, I’d just have Veronika work Milo’s Pokemon over with poison, but… Glaz and Hans might have to be the stars of this.”

“Milo doesn’t have enough counters against ghost Pokemon,” Minh chimed in. “Your Zwirrfinst might not be able to do everything, though.”

“No, but if Glaz can set up a trick room, then that eliminates a lot of Milo’s usual advantages. With that, Hans can move faster than Milo’s Drapfel, I’m a lot more worried about _that_ thing than anything else on his team.”

Zoya nodded. She kept her eyes fixed forward, as if she was looking for something just ahead. “Not a bad idea. Who do you want with you out there tomorrow? Or are you going to figure that out when you get there?”

“I don’t know yet,” Monika admitted. “Let’s get back to the hotel first and get all our notes together. Maybe you guys saw something I didn’t.”


	4. Turffield Stadium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika challenges Milo.

Monika rolled her neck, yawning as she woke up. Being able to sleep in while at Turffield and formulate her strategy against Milo definitely helped lift her spirits, but having to wake up early today to get herself ready to go to the stadium just made her wonder why on Earth she had ever decided to do this. It sure as hell wasn’t because she loved getting up early. People said that because she had been in the Army, then obviously she was a morning person. Well, that was a clear and obvious lie. Monika had concluded early on in her service that nobody ever _liked_ being in the Army, they just were deluding themselves until they either got coffee or woke up enough to be cognizant of what reality was again.

The sun had settled nicely in the sky by the time she had gotten up, with one of her two uniforms neatly set on the TV stand waiting for her. She showered, brushed her teeth, and more or less did everything needed to prepare for today’s battle. Still, part of her wished that she had more time. Monika knew it didn’t make any sense – fundamentally, there wasn’t much in the way of preparing she could really _do_ for this without practical work to make it happen – but the feeling haunted her as she headed down to the lobby with Zoya, Minh and Adriane to get breakfast. Today it was simple and light, just English muffins and jam – Monika had discovered long ago that she could never eat before anything big. In the past this had been auditions for musicals and job interviews, before that had changed to transform into anxiety prior to combat patrols and order changes.

Today wasn’t any different. The inherent publicity of today’s match instilled in her a nervousness and unease that just couldn’t be quelled. But, she reasoned, all she had to do was make it through today. She could beat Milo, move on to Nessa, and then make her way up and up until she challenged Leon. If she ever got that far, at least. She found herself nibbling at the jam and bread, unable to keep much of anything down for long. Monika’s entire focus was set on running through scenarios in her head, debating which tactics and plans she had would be best suited. Then again, von Moltke had said it best; no plan survives contact with the enemy.

The morning was a blur between getting ready to head to the stadium and Monika’s musings about the battle ahead. She scarcely registered anything happening around her, much less the conversations Minh, Zoya and Adriane had with each other. The walk to Turffield Stadium was easy, and so far that was proving to be the lowest bar to jump over today. Already, people were waiting outside the doors for a chance to buy a ticket and get good seats, or just indulge in the numerous concessions offered at the stadium. Minh and Adriane joined the line as Zoya followed closely behind Monika. Who better to help her out on today’s battle than Zoya? She had seen all of Milo’s strategies, and she and Monika almost always were on the same wavelength.

Inside the stadium, she and Zoya were shuffled along with other challengers into the locker rooms. Here, they were allowed to hang up any jackets or coats they had been using and stow bags – Monika had only worn her army jacket on the way in given the high winds, and didn’t bother to bring her bag given she could keep all her Pokeballs on her person. She was first up to challenge Milo. Would that help or hurt her? On one hand, she wouldn’t have to stress about seeing others succeed or fail before her. But on the other… it did mean that she was facing a very fresh and prepared Milo team.

“You’ve got this, Monika,” Zoya said, nodding as she looked over. “After all, you rappelled down cliffs, went to Afghanistan… a match like this shouldn’t be a problem.”

Monika scoffed, smiling wryly. “At least with _that_ I had an idea of what I was doing.”

“It’s just battling. You worked your way through the minor league, you can do it again here. Just one battle, and you can move on to Nessa.”

The more she thought about it, the more Monika decided Zoya was right. This wasn’t anything bad at all. She had been in far worse situations than this, and come back even stronger because of it. Milo’s strategy was easy to counter, something Monika could top without even trying. With a resolute nod, Monika stood up. It was time to head to the field, and start warming up.

She stepped out to the sound of roaring fans, loud electronic music reverberating through the arena. The sound felt overwhelming, like every note and cheer and yell was intentionally assaulting her ears. Monika tried her best to ignore it, sending Glaz out to let him stretch and start gearing up for the fight. Glaz emerged from his Pokeball grandly, silently scanning the area before turning to Monika, awaiting instructions.

“Glaz, begin Training Scheme Four,” Monika ordered, unconsciously standing at attention. She watched over Glaz like her old drill sergeants had, correcting mistakes and celebrating good form when needed. It looked like Glaz was having a good day – he was vigorous, itching for an opponent, and even when sparring against invisible foes, Monika figured out right away that each punch had the exact level of power behind it.

“Stop exercise!” Monika called. “Good work, Glaz!” She retrieved a treat from her pocket, tossing it to Glaz which he caught with next to no effort. Time to bring Hans out, putting Glaz back into his Pokeball. Hans stretched lazily as he was released, yawning as if he had just woken up from a nap. Honestly, he probably had. Monika let him get the proverbial sand out of his eyes, carefully looking at the others as they trained their Pokemon. Was she the only one taking this seriously? It looked like a lot of these other challengers were more playing games with their Pokemon than hyping them up for a fight.

She looked back to Hans, who had now woken up fully and ready to start warming up. Each of her Pokemon knew what it meant when she stood before them at attention. “Hans, begin Training Scheme Four!” Monika called. Hans nodded, winding up his attacks and combating an unseen foe. Hans never needed much to get him going, despite what most people said about Letarkings like him. Monika watched him closely, but since he was much better about his form than usual, she decided to let Mr. Good out if only to have options ready. Mr. Good wouldn’t help much against all of Milo’s Pokemon, but at least he wasn’t weak to anything Milo had in store either.

“You’ve got some strong-looking Pokemon!” someone said. Monika turned around to see Milo had appeared behind her, looking upon Hans and Mr. Good almost as if he had raised them himself.

“Oh, uh, hello Leader Milo,” Monika said, finding herself suddenly rather cotton-mouthed.

“Ah, you don’t have to call me that. I’m sure your team is going to do great! We’re gonna have a good battle tonight, I can feel it!”

Monika blinked, at a loss for words. She knew Milo was absurdly friendly, but… huh. This was different, the exact kind of different that unsettled her just a touch. “Uh, well… I hope so. Uh, good luck?”

With a huge smile, Milo nodded and headed off, talking to another challenger. They looked about as tongue-tied as Monika, honestly. _Well, at least I’m not alone._ She refocused her attention on warming up, watching Mr. Good and Hans run through their exercises.

Monika called for them to cease exercising, giving them a break as the timer began to wind down. No time to get Veronika out and have her practice quickly laying down toxic spikes. The buzzer was set to go off any time now, just in time for the challenger’s coaches and advisers out onto the floor. It looked like only Monika and one other challenger had someone on the floor with them today – Zoya stood with her arms folded next to a pudgy man wearing a red sweater with two white stripes down the sleeves.

Just like it had last night, the stadium darkened as the opening rituals began. Monika started to regulate her breathing as the anxiety started to fill her. It was far too real now, coming to a head as Milo’s introduction played and the lights began to focus on Milo’s entrance passage. Just like last night, smoke machines and airhorns began going off as Milo entered with a triumphant theme and a wave of cheering. League officials jogged out, ushering out other challengers and the other coach, leaving only Monika, Zoya, Milo and the officials on the ground. As the cheering died down and an eerie calm crossed the stadium, Monika took her position in the turf, breathing as regularly as she could muster.

The first whistle blew. Time to send the first Pokemon out. Monika ran her fingers over Glaz’s Pokeball on her belt, before pulling it out and launching it to the turf. Glaz emerged from the ball, itching for a good fight. His ethereal lower half floated above the ground, fading into nothing as he clenched his fists. In response, Milo sent out his Kappalores, as she expected. Alright, this would be easy after all. Milo looked to Monika and sharply nodded, a look of determination filling his eyes as the music began to fade away. Another whistle blow – time to fight.

“Glaz, execute Attack Pattern Two!” With a roar and blinding speed, Glaz dodged Kappalores’ incoming attacks, conjuring purple will-o’-the-wisps. He used these to burn Kappalores with ethereal fire, burning him to set up for a devastating spectral attack. Kappalores tried to rub the fire off itself with its water, but found its efforts fruitless as Glaz continued to duck and weave around it. His single eye glowed purple as he stared down Kappalores, as an invisible force seemed to knock it down. The audience, once cheering, now drew a hushed breath. Kappalores was down, but not out, and yet this still didn’t bode well for it.

Glaz patiently waited for Kappalores to get back up, rhythmically jiggling as it did. Once it had, it began the same ritualistic dance that consumed it last night, though its moves were stilted as it had been burned. Glaz acted quickly, cocking back an electrically charged fist as he charged for Kappalores. This punch landed right in Kappalores’ torso, sending it careening across the turf. Whistle blown – Kappalores was officially no longer fit to battle. Milo smiled, returning Kappalores to its Pokeball as Zoya headed over.

“Well?” she said, shouting to make herself heard over the noise. “So far so good, right?”

“It’s only first contact,” Monika said. “You know how first contact goes.”

“You’re doing well, though,” Zoya reminded her. “You got this. Don’t forget that.”

The official timeout was over now, and Zoya retreated to her place on the sidelines. Milo decided to bring out Cottomi on round two. Well, at least he wasn’t changing up his plan of attack too much. The tiny Pokemon seemed unnerved at Glaz’s size. Maybe that would work in his favor? Either way, the fight was back on. So far, Glaz hadn’t taken a hit, and she considered that good. All sorts of things could go wrong, though.

“Alright, Glaz!” Monika yelled. “Initiate Attack Pattern Three!”

Immediately, Glaz began readying flame and ice-infused fists, charging at Milo’s Cottomi. It began releasing massive white spores of cotton that stuck to Glaz, impeding his charge. Monika could almost watch Glaz slow down to a near halt as Cottomi then conjured up thousands of tiny leaves, launching them with deadly precision. Glaz reacted immediately to the assault, and though many leaves passed through with no harm, there were enough that struck him and definitely caused some level of pain, judging by the anger-fueled roar that emanated from his mouth.

Monika paced back and forth, assessing the situation. The cotton spores Cottomi had released had a negative effect on Glaz’s movement, that much she could tell. He struggled to move quickly, his punches sluggish in face of Cottomi’s highly evasive maneuvers, and that made him an easy target. His blind rage had made him even more susceptible to Cottomi’s wild dance-like dodges. “Glaz!” Monika shouted, cupping a hand around her mouth to make sure he heard her. “Delay Action!”

With a nod, Glaz focused and calmed down, creating a purple-tinted screen that grew to cover the arena. All at once, Cottomi began to move in slow motion, as if trapped underwater, and this threw it off enough that Glaz could shrug off the cotton spores and begin charging for his foe, a frozen fist flying out for the diminutive Pokemon. Cottomi’s speed and grace could not help it in the trick room, and it watched helplessly as Glaz’s fist collided with it. The whistles blew before Cottomi could even hit the ground, signaling another Pokemon down for Milo.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Monika glanced over to Zoya. She didn’t approach this time, only giving a sharp and proud nod. Milo’s Cottomi returned to its Pokeball, looking at Glaz almost as if trying to find a way to counter it. His cheer team led the crowd in a proud chant for the hometown hero, but if Monika was right, then nothing Milo could do would matter now. Finally, he took another Pokeball in his hand, throwing it out to release a Blubella. Not a problem – Monika could easily counter this. With Glaz’s twisted dimensions still in play, that just made this all the easier.

Milo’s Blubella immediately set to work, in spite of the barrage of punches it took the second the whistle blew. Dark-colored spores began to fall around Glaz, and his attacks slowed down as he began to clutch at his throat, badly poisoned. Monika called a time-out immediately – there was no way she was going to let Glaz keep fighting like this. Zoya headed over, confirming that Monika had it handled and knew what her next plan was. Time to send Hans out. Just as quickly as Milo had swapped up Pokemon, so too did Monika.

Hans stretched lazily, a betrayal of his eagerness to fight. While Milo’s Blubella was still under the effects of the twisted dimensions, Monika knew this wouldn’t last forever. She had precious little time to work her way through Blubella and Kinoso, and it was running out fast. “Hans, execute Attack Pattern One!” Nodding, Hans began to lurch towards Blubella, his fists dragging on the ground as he headed for the tiny flower Pokemon. It tried to release more spores, no doubt trying to poison or paralyze Hans, but this method of delaying was no good to stop Hans from his attacks. His massive fists swung out to Blubella, striking it with a brutality that apparently shocked the crowd. Monika found herself shouting out in pride, feeling her ponytail bounce around as she pumped her fists.

Monika began to find the timeouts boring, eager for Milo to send out either his Drapfel or Kinoso next. He chose Kinoso, and with a barely restrained rage, Hans pummeled it out of competition. The cheer team had lost all enthusiasm, and even the most die-hard of fans could tell that Milo had lost this one. The only thing saving him at this point was his Drapfel, and with Hans more that ready to engage anything that crossed his path, the chances were looking slim.

Finally, Milo let his Drapfel out. This was it – Milo’s final Pokemon. The stadium signaled this by playing a special theme, while the announcer shouted something about a “final stand” as Hans and Drapfel stared each other down. The second the fight was on, the two locked in a desperate struggle, with no clear strategy coming out of either one. Any tactics or orders Monika could have given would just be useless – in this sort of fight, there was no such thing as fighting with a brain. There was only base Pokemon instinct, and nothing more. Right now, it looked like Hans had the upper hand, knocking Milo’s Drapfel around with relative ease. All Monika could do at this point was shout words of encouragement.

Eventually, the two Pokemon broke the bare-knuckle brawl, where Hans immediately began a fresh assault with ice-laced fists that slammed into Drapfel just as the twisted dimensions faded out and all returned to normal. Now much faster than its opponent, Drapfel took the hit like a champ and set to work ducking and weaving, all the while assailing Hans with attacks of its own. A brief moment of flight allowed it to avoid taking hits for a while, but a hearty yawn from Hans forced it to land. Now sluggish due to Hans, Milo’s Drapfel opened itself up to a barrage of punches from Hans, followed up by a devastating orange beam of energy that he fired from his mouth.

When the dust settled, the final whistle blew. This was quickly accompanied by a single, long, loud airhorn. A league official raised his hand upright in Monika’s favor. She had done it – her first win as part of the Galar league. Monika cheered as loud as her voice could carry as Zoya practically tackled her. Hans stood tall and proud, falling to his back and taking a well-earned rest, with the signature pose that anyone familiar with Letarkings knew well.

Milo walked over, a badge in his hands. He handed it to Monika, a wide smile on his face. “I knew we’d have a good battle!” he said, laughing as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Thank you, Leader Milo,” Monika said, nodding as she smiled back. “I’ll see you in the championship round!”

The crowd began cheering ever louder, as Milo’s cheer team broke into a routine. This time, they cheered for the new challenger who had squared off with Milo and soundly thrashed him, celebrating her victory despite being in Milo’s home town and own stadium. Monika couldn’t help but feel proud. She’d really done it.

All she had to do now was head to Hulbury, in order to challenge Nessa.


	5. Afterparty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating Milo, Monika celebrates and begins the journey to Hulbury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meikro: Rookidee  
> Kranoviz: Corviknight  
> Grypheldis: Mandibuzz

Leaving the stadium after her successful match, Monika met first with Minh and Adriane, both of whom greeted her with tight hugs to congratulate her on a job well done. Monika had already changed out of her uniform, slipping back into the ever-familiar and comfortable Bundeswehr-issue combat trousers and a simple _telnyashka._ It was time to hit the road, and move on to Nessa. She had a broad idea of how to counter Nessa’s team, since Lev should be able to take out nearly anything. Part of her wondered if she would have to transfer over some of her Pokemon from Germany to help, but that was something she’d figure out upon arriving at Hulbury.

“Oi, Monika!”

Marnie’s voice rang out, clear and distinct as Monika turned around, watching her heading out of the stadium, backpack jostled around with every step from her heavy boots. Marnie’s piercing blue eyes remained unchanged from the last time she had seen her, but this time Marnie had a look of silent respect for her.

“Hello, Marnie,” Monika said. “I didn’t know you were here.”

Marnie shrugged, idly tugging at the ends of her jacket. “Well, it never hurts to scout out the competition. You did pretty well in there.”

“Thank you,” Monika said, smiling. It always felt good to be recognized, especially by someone like Marnie. “I saw your battle yesterday, you did really well, too.”

“Hey, thanks. Listen, watching and doing it aren’t the same thing,” Marnie said, quickly suppressing a smile. “I wanna fight you on my own terms before the finals.”

Just as quickly, Monika’s smile faded too. She hadn’t prepared _anything_ for fighting Marnie’s team. Hell, half of it was unknown to her. Her mind began to race, trying to figure out how to confront this issue. Logically, she couldn’t fight Marnie now, right? It didn’t make sense to do so. After all, she hadn’t even gotten her Pokemon healed, and she didn’t have any plans in place, or-

“Not now, though,” Marnie said, apparently picking up on Monika’s anxiety. “How’s about this. You make it back to Motostoke to challenge Kabu, we’ll battle before we go up, yeah? Same day to challenge him.”

Monika looked to Zoya, Minh and Adriane, who all shrugged. It wasn’t every day that Monika could see first-hand how a real Galarian trainer fought, and the promise of a battle prior to taking on Kabu was definitely enticing. Besides, if she needed it, Monika could transfer over Pokemon from home and figure out how to tackle Marnie’s team. She looked back to Marnie, nodding. “Okay, we’ll do it then,” she said.

“Should be good,” Marnie said, smiling. “I hear you got Kabu’s endorsement. I wanna see what made you so special!”

Marnie left, waving Monika off as she did. Something about it, the way she talked to Monika, made her think that this would never be the last time she saw Marnie. Had she just indirectly declared Monika to be her rival? She couldn’t tell. Maybe the Galarian league press would pick up on this, and start some sort of bizarre narrative constructed around it. Would they see each other continually challenge one another, with one side always falling short, like Raihan and Leon did? Wait, if that made them like those two, which one was Monika?

She was brought out of her musings by Minh tapping her on the shoulder. “Is there anything you wanted to do in Turffield? Adriane and I were planning on getting lunch.”

Lot of things to be done. Monika needed to gather up potential supplies, heal up her team, and maybe, just maybe, plot out where to find a Galarian Smogmog. She remembered reading in her Pokedex that Galarian Smogmogs were unique and knew moves that were incredibly effective against Pokemon like those found in Marnie’s team. “I could go for some food,” Monika said. “Lunch first, then we should prepare to head out tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Zoya said. “What do they have around here?”

The four toured the shops and restaurants around Galar, eventually settling on a pub that looked like it offered decent fare. The interior was rowdy, especially given many were ardent supporters of Milo judging by the paraphernalia on the walls. Mementos of his path to success and fame as a gym leader were chronicled here, from newspaper articles to a relic that supposedly was Milo’s first uniform, stained with grass and hardly even recognizable. The locals didn’t even notice that they had come in, still attending to their drinks, bar food, and undivided focus on Milo’s fights. The bartender scarcely glanced over at them, gesturing that they were to find a seat wherever possible. Minh led the charge, heading to a corner table that was nestled in between two tables with hardy-looking farmers, totally absorbed in either reading their daily papers or scarfing down food as quickly as it came out.

A server handed them menus, which Monika and Zoya took the lead in reading over. It took some half-shouted, half-misheard translating, but eventually Minh and Adriane decided on their orders. While this translation was ongoing, Zoya ordered the closest thing to Russian vodka that she could get, accompanying it with lemonade to give the vodka at least _some_ taste. She was briefly carded by the server, a fact that Zoya grumbled in Russian about, but she surrendered her Latvian ID card over anyway. Adriane ordered a creamy mushroom risotto through Monika, tea to drink. Minh decided to try the chicken tikka masala, since she didn’t see anything else palatable on the menu and was wary of the “strange English food” she found on the menu, also ordered through Monika since she spoke no English. Zoya decided to try the fish and chips that she had heard so much about, and last but certainly not least, Monika decided to see if the so-called “famous burger” was worth the praise.

While they waited for their food to come, the conversation undoubtedly turned to what was next. Monika tried to keep up and contribute, but other than vague promises and unclear responses, she couldn’t focus on the conversation. The television screens showed Milo’s continual fights against today’s challengers, and a lot of the highlights showed Monika soundly beating Milo with little effort. Was it just her, or were the people at the bar staring Monika down as the replays showed Glaz beating on Milo’s Pokemon? Immediately, she wished she had put her hair down before coming in – her ponytail was so distinct, and Zoya was visible on the sidelines of a _lot_ more of these shots than she first thought.

“Hey, Monika?” Adriane asked, looking at her with a concerned face. “Are you okay?”

“You haven’t even drank anything yet and you’re closing up,” Zoya observed, knocking back part of her vodka.

Monika snapped herself out of her musings, shaking her head as if that’d make the anxiety go away. “Yeah, I… they’re just putting my face everywhere today. It’s like nobody else had ever fucked up Milo that badly before.”

“What’s it matter?” Minh asked. “People know Milo’s an easy leader to beat. His record is _abysmal,_ it’s a wonder he’s still even a gym leader.”

“It fuckin’ _matters_ because if I get past Opal, then suddenly everything I’ve done as a trainer goes up on that huge fucking screen,” Monika said, frowning. Their food suddenly arrived in the midst of her outburst – thank God she had switched to German, otherwise she’d feel embarrassed for herself. Monika stewed in silence, contemplating whether she _really_ wanted the pickle on her burger or not before taking it off in disgust. “I mean, come on, you guys saw it. Milo had a whole video for himself. The league officials in Motostoke said they’d do the same thing for me, hell, they had me do promo shots with all my Pokemon same day.”

“Don’t stress so much about it,” Zoya said, finishing off her vodka. “I mean, hey, so they make a video or two about you. So what? I’m willing to be every gym leader in this region had that same thought going through their head.”

Monika sighed, poking at the sides that came with her burger. Maybe Zoya was right. She had done well today, after all, and even if he was the easiest in the league, beating Milo was something to be proud of regardless. As they began to dive into their food, they fell silent, only occasionally asking questions or saying something. The food was too good to waste even a second on it. By the time came to pay, Zoya more or less insisted she foot the bill, saying that Monika deserved the break and it was meant to celebrate her victory anyway.

Despite her concerns, not a soul in the pub disturbed Monika and her friends, or even seemed to care about her. With that particular stress point removed, Monika set to gathering supplies for the road ahead. She had plenty of Pokeballs, just in case she ventured to find a wild Pokemon to catch and train up for battling Marnie. Her stock of potions, antivenoms, and other medial supplies – for humans and Pokemon alike – was at an acceptable level. She still had some food that would last for a day or two in her pack. Water was… well, she didn’t want to call it _fine_ but it was better than having none at all. Thankfully, she had been able to do laundry at the hotel, and didn’t need to spend time on that.

All she needed now was a good night’s sleep, and she’d be ready to head out to Hulbury the next morning.

* * *

Strangely enough, Monika’s dreams were clouded with visions of battling Marnie, a strange parallel world where Marnie spoke perfect German and knew how to counter every strategy she could think of. Even Pokemon that Monika knew worked against her team acted sluggish, moving so slowly it was like they had just been fed the world’s largest meal and were slipping into a food coma. Glaz and Hans refused to listen to her, lazing about and taking their own initiative to reflect on other ventures. Monika could do nothing but watch as Marnie’s team felled them one by one, until she had no Pokemon left.

But when she awoke, every vision and memory of the night’s dreams were gone, fading away into nothing as she slowly got up. It was early, by her own standards, 7 AM. Zoya was already awake, judging by the empty half of the bed next to her and the running shower. Minh had already gotten prepared, her hair immaculate as always as she set about her makeup, while Adriane was still asleep. She looked more like a hibernating bear, the way her long black hair tumbled and cascaded around her face and formed an impenetrable blob. Monika reached up, finding her own hair had tangled up during the night and refused to be tamed by something as simple as a brush.

“How long’s Zoya been in there?” Monika asked, desperately trying to will away the taste of stale breath from her mouth.

“About ten minutes,” Minh replied. Should be done soon, then. Monika rolled her shoulders back, opening up her rucksack to dig out what she’d wear today. Nothing too crazy, after all whatever she wore, she’d need to lace her boots up into. Like she expected, Zoya soon emerged from the shower, freeing it up for Monika. The warm water felt _amazing_ this morning, and part of her never wanted to leave this hotel. And yet, she knew that she had to keep moving forward. Facing Milo and winning was always just step one. Step two would _have_ to be crushing Nessa.

Monika shook her head as she washed her hair, amused with herself. Here she was, yesterday calling the world doom and gloom, and now she was talking about destroying Nessa without a second thought. Why couldn’t she have had that enthusiasm and blind confidence _yesterday?_ It was almost like she should try reaching through the mirror to shake herself and yell “What the fuck?”.

By the time she got out of the shower, Zoya and Minh had left, probably to check them out. Their bags were already gone as well, with Adriane sitting up in her bed like someone had just violently shaken her awake and left without a trace. “Hey Adriane,” Monika said. “Do you want to shower before we go?”

“Mmmno,” she muttered, rubbing her face. “I showered last night. I’ll be good to go in… a minute.”

“Yeah, no,” Monika said, grabbing her ruck. “Take your time, I don’t think we’re checked out yet anyway.”

She did a final check of her ruck and the room, making sure she or one of her friends hadn’t forgotten anything. So far, so good. Everything looked to be in order, and nobody had left anything. Monika stuffed her sleeping clothes into the ruck, closing it up tight and making sure each strap and loop was in the right place before heaving it onto her back. It felt _right_ having this on her back again. Part of her regretted that the league made her wear a specific uniform for battles, but maybe as champion they’d allow her some leeway. After all, Leon had a fucking _cape_ , so why couldn’t she have something unique for herself?

In a flash, Adriane was ready, and they headed down to join Zoya and Minh outside. The day was cool and cloudy as they set off for Hulbury, with a threat of rain according to Minh. Once they got out from the relative safety of Turffield, they paused to let Minh release her Frosdedje from its Pokeball. Minh’s only Pokemon would serve as their safeguard from wild Pokemon attacks as they got off the road and trekked through the cross-country trails. As advanced as Galar was, the walking routes between cities were still dangerous if one was unprepared, and though Minh didn’t qualify herself as a trainer by any means, she was still more than confident in her Frosdedje’s abilities.

Walking through the path, Monika couldn’t help but watch the trees and shrubs pass them by. Each step was marked by the sound of gravel and rocks mixing in the treads of her boots, with Zoya’s boots doing the same. Minh and Adriane didn’t have boots, but their shoes made a much less strong sound as wild bug Pokemon trilled and called through the woods. Refreshing winds blew past them as diminutive Meikros mixed with the occasional Kranoviz high above them, each one singing a song that made Monika wish she was back in Germany, if only for a little bit. The harsh calls of a Kranoviz reminded her far too much of a Grypheldis she had heard in Afghanistan, watching them in Takhar Province before a patrol that Monika had a bad feeling about.

Strange how such a little thing could bring back so many memories.

It was like for a moment, she had been transported back to Afghanistan, staring at the endless deserts from a dusty old road, muttered Tajik to her back and stressed German all around while an MP7 rested against her leg. If she closed her eyes for a moment, she could even still smell the diesel of the Marder that she manned, listening to the driver swear up and down that the track tension was wrong and they really ought to fix it sometime soon. Some days, it felt like Afghanistan wasn’t four years ago, it was four _days_ ago.

She was brought out of her musing by Zoya, who tapped her on her shoulder. She looked ahead – Minh and Adriane were both at least four meters ahead of them, laughing and going on like nothing else mattered in the world. “Hey,” Zoya said, staring at Monika intensely. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah,” Monika said. “I’m just…”

“It’s the birds, isn’t it?” Zoya said, almost preempting her. “Yeah, it got to me too. Too many memories, and not all of them good.”

Monika sighed, slowly and wearily nodding. “Farkhar. I fucking hate that place.”

“Kandahar for me,” Zoya said. “Hey, it’s all behind us, right?”

Scoffing, Monika shook her head. “That’s what they told us. Being there made me wish I’d never joined up.”

“But if you hadn’t, we’d never have met,” Zoya reminded her. “Sounds like a loss to me.”

The sky looked oddly different today. Monika stared up at the cloudless sky, matching pace with Zoya as they closed ranks with Minh and Adriane, wondering if she was actually imagining the world as clear and blue as it was or if it was all in her head. If she was inclined to wax poetic, Monika thought that this was some sort of sign for the battles ahead in Hulbury and Motostoke.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Monika said, gently charging her shoulder into Zoya’s. “Can’t imagine where I’d be without you.”


	6. Preplanning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika arrives in Hulbury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Morlord: Quagsire

Through valleys and over hills, they trekked to Hulbury with only a few breaks for food and rest. Monika let herself become immersed in the forest that they now found themselves in, listening to the sounds of nature that she had sorely missed. She’d give anything to go back home if just for a little while and walk through the park she had left behind, relive the memories of all the friends who walked with her on the warmest of days and darkest of nights. In a blink, she had come back to reality, back in Galar with Minh’s Frosdedje leading the way, on guard for any potential bird of bug Pokemon that decided it wanted to trifle with them today.

Increasingly, Monika’s thoughts turned towards the upcoming battle in Hulbury. Nessa would not be a pushover like Milo, that much was certain. Her Pokemon would be much stronger, much more agile, and salty for a fight. Lev would have to carry a lot of the fight, but if Nessa brought out something resistant to his electric attacks, then it would have to be Glaz and Hans. Well, at least Mr. Good and Veronika would find their strengths eventually – Veronika would just have to wait until they encountered Kabu again, and if all went well, fighting Bea would be a cakewalk with Mr. Good.

“Wait, do you guys hear that?” Adriane asked, breaking Monika out of her thoughts as they came to a stop. She didn’t hear anything unusual – just the typical trills and calls of the various wild Pokemon that inhabited the area.

“I don’t get it,” Zoya said, shrugging. “Sounds normal.”

“No, I hear it too,” Minh said, holding a hand out. The second Minh confirmed it, Monika’s brain went into overdrive. What could have them in their sights? A wild Pokemon, no doubt, but what kind? How dangerous would it be to them? Before long, a small Pokemon, looking rather like a squirrel with brown fur and enlarged cheeks, screeching at them.

“ _Xuě Yāo Nǚ! Tấn công!”_ Minh shouted, prompting her Frosdedje to attack. The tiny Pokemon was quickly enveloped by a flurry of ice and snow, practically freezing it in place. Still speaking Vietnamese, Minh praised Frosdedje for doing so well as they made their way around the frozen Pokemon in a rush.

“That Pokemon’s going to be fine, right?” Adriane asked as they got further and further away.

“It should be,” Minh replied, switching back to German. “She only used enough to make sure it wouldn’t move. It’ll unfreeze within the hour, by which we’ll be long gone.”

Monika nodded, kicking her pace up. The faster they got to Hulbury, the better. If they were quick about it, she might even be able to see Nessa battle before the week ended. “All the reason to keep going,” she said to nobody in particular.

* * *

Arriving in Hulbury, Monika was met immediately with the smell of the ocean. It was a particular scent she had become well-versed in with the many times she had gone to Wilhelmshaven to ship out to go to Afghanistan, or to the US on a joint training exercise. It was the same smell every time – overwhelmingly noxious with the rank odor of fish, saltwater, and a sickly sweet smell that reminded Monika of fondant every single time. She didn’t dare to ask what produced this last smell, afraid it’d ruin the idea of cakes forever.

Hulbury itself was like any harbor town she knew, full of cranes, boats, and an overwhelming sense of seamanship and naval tradition that infected every part of the town. Dad would love this place – he could probably take a boat right to here if he wanted, and avoid his declared hatred of flying all at once. The pastel rowhouses mixed together, almost like a perfectly regimented line that went up and down each street, each rank uniform in pattern. A seafood restaurant that Minh raved about stood only about two blocks down the road from the eponymous stadium, standing tall and situated near a lighthouse that, if the rumors were to be believed, was where Nessa opted to train. Checking the stadium schedule showed that there were no matches scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, and so Monika would have to wait at least three days before arranging her match. Depending on how many trainers were here, she might even have to wait until Saturday again. No doubt a lot of people wanted their fights with Nessa over and done with.

Of course, now she began to wonder about the plights of her fellow trainers. Marnie obviously had done well – she had seen half the fight and didn’t need to be a genius to know that the matchup there was heavily in Marnie’s favor. What about Hop and Bede though? Both were rumored to be strong contenders, and one only had to check their backing to be sure of it – Hop with his champion brother, and Bede with Chairman Rose’s endorsement. But there also had to be no less than a hundred competitors, and one didn’t become a Galarian League trainer and _not_ have some level of skill to show for it.

Like in Turffield, they booked a hotel for the week, each one putting in enough money to pay for the room. Her mind couldn’t get off of Marnie’s challenge in Turffield, even as they dropped their bags and kicked off their shoes in the room. Marnie, she could take on she was sure. Bede could be beaten. But Hop? Hop remained an enigma in her mind. He had to have taken on Milo sometime this week. Monika hadn’t seen him on Saturday, and he wasn’t in the lineup on Wednesday. So unless he had made it to Turffield a week before Monika did – which seemed unlikely at best – he had to have battled on Sunday. It was the only conclusion that made sense.

She stared up at the ceiling, trying to visualize the possibilities. Leon didn’t have a clear type preference, if the promotional material was anything to go off of. Did Hop have that same all-around style, or did he have an unknown type he adhered to? Monika wasn’t ashamed to admit she preferred psychic and steel-type Pokemon, but she made sure to balance her team out with Pokemon that could respond to any situation and effectively deal with nearly any encounter. Now, she wasn’t so sure. If Hop could master multiple types like Leon did, then what did that make her? Would she be but a mere speedbump to Hop, or could she beat him in the finals?

Monika sighed, glancing up to see Minh, Adriane and Zoya had opted to put on some movie on the TV. What even was this? She’d seen it before, but couldn’t remember the name of it. “What the fuck is this?” she found herself asking.

“ _Phantom of the Opera,_ ” Zoya said.

“Oh, okay,” she replied, her head landing squarely back on her pillow again. She knew that. Had spending all this time out in Galar, worrying about upcoming matches and potential future battles disconnected her? Maybe. It was tough to tell some days. “Am I worrying too much?”

She could feel the eyes on her, and immediately regretted the question. “What makes you ask that?” Adriane asked, turning the TV’s volume down.

“I don’t know,” Monika said, shrugging. “Like, I’ve been worrying about how to take on Nessa, Marnie, Bede, and Hop all in that order. Shit, maybe I’m just going nuts, you know?”

Adriane sighed, leaning back on the bed with a propped up elbow. “But you’ve _always_ done that, though. You’re _always_ thinking about the next fight, Monika. You did this all the time when you were in the Minor League.”

“It was different then,” Monika argued. “I didn’t have to worry about a ton of people getting all up in my shit every time I went into the ring.”

“No, but you still worried about it. This isn’t exactly unusual for you.”

Monika scrunched up her face, blinking. “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, you could have done a hell of a better job doing it.”

“What she’s _trying_ to say is,” Zoya cut on, still focused on the movie, “is that you do this all the time. That’s not a bad thing, that’s just who the fuck you _are_ as a person. I mean, shit, I clocked literally everyone in this building the second we walked in and figured out who was and wasn’t a threat in case a shootout happened. I’m pretty sure most people don’t walk into a swanky hotel and do that.”

“Is it bad that I did the same thing?” Monika asked.

Minh swept her legs across the bed, turning to face Monika. “Okay, _look._ I haven’t known you for long, Monika, but if there’s one thing I’ve figured out about you, it’s that you plan out every single thing that you possibly can. So, you’re here in Hulbury. What’s your next step?”

“Uh… fight Nessa?”

“Okay, good. Then what’s after that?”

Monika blinked, somewhat dumbfounded. “Uh… If I win, go to Motostoke? And if I don’t, I’ll just… fight Nessa again? I don’t get how-”

“So then what are you so worried about?! Either you win, or you don’t!”

“If I don’t win, that kind of sets me back a tic, don’t you think?” Monika asked, staring blankly at Minh. “It’d look pretty shitty if Kabu endorsed me, and then I get stumbled up fighting the second gym leader. I may as well have just lost to Milo and fucked off back to Germany.”

Zoya reached over, smacking the back of Monika’s head. “Don’t talk like that. Even if you don’t believe it yourself, you’ve got this.”

Adriane got up off the bed, heading over to Monika’s side of the bed and sitting down, looking at her with quiet determination. “Okay, so let’s talk this out. Nessa. How do you plan on going in?”

Monika blinked, suddenly feeling on the spot. “Okay, so… Lev should be able to knock out a majority of her Pokemon, assuming most are at least somewhat water type.”

“What do you mean, _somewhat?”_ Adriane asked. “It’s one or the other.”

Monika nodded, wetting her lips. “Right. I heard she has a Morlord. I can’t take that down with electrical attacks, it’s immune to those. I’d have to bring Veronika out, lay out some toxic spikes to screen her incoming Pokemon and hope that I can get by with her.”

“What about your Woingenau?” Zoya asked. “If you’ve got the spikes down, you can just let Nessa’s Pokemon go after him and bounce back everything they throw at you.”

“Ooh, I hadn’t considered that,” Monika said. How’d she forget about Innokentiy? It wasn’t like her to do that, hell, he was the second Pokemon she had ever caught. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. So, maybe start out with Lev and knock out whatever she sends out first, and then lay down poison spikes, and if it gets too tough for Veronika and Lev, Innokentiy can work from there.”

“What if Nessa has something that doesn’t fit into that plan?” Adriane asked. “What then?”

“Well, then I’m fucked six ways to Sunday,” Monika replied, shrugging. “I mean, I can’t plan for everything…”

Adriane shrugged as well, only briefly closing her eyes as if to silently agree. “It doesn’t hurt. So, what _do_ you do if there’s something you hadn’t planned for?”

She chuckled, shaking her head as she draped an arm across her face. What a crazy question. It was like she was back in Turffield, wondering and stressing about how to beat Milo all over again. She ought to write this down – if she didn’t, she risked forgetting it. “I can’t plan for a situation that I don’t expect,” Monika replied.

“Maybe not,” Minh chimed in. “Do you want to see if we can find one of Nessa’s older matches? They probably have them on repeat here.”

Well, having old footage to watch _would_ help. But there were a lot of unknowns, primarily if someone like Bede or Hop had been through before, and Nessa had decided to change up her team because of it. It seemed unlikely, but at the same time, Nessa seemed like the kind of trainer to have backup teams and backups to the backups. Hell, it’s what Monika would do. “No,” she finally said. “I’ll register for my match, and then I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.”

* * *

Registration for this week’s matches at the Hulbury Stadium opened on Tuesday, the morning after Monika arrived. She made sure to get there early – after all, she didn’t want to lose out on getting a good time to face Nessa. The earlier she could face Nessa’s team, she decided, the better. Like in Turffield, the line was long and it was full of trainers that Monika had never seen before. Had they all come from Turffield, or were they doing the gyms out of order? It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility, really. Maybe some of them figured they had a better shot of going up against Nessa first rather than tackling Milo.

Just like before, Monika went through the ritual of getting her match in order. Thursday at 6 PM, just an hour after the first match. She saw Bede was before her – good. Two birds with one stone, knock out Nessa and get a sneak peek at Bede’s team and how it performed as well. If all went well, then she’d be well-armed to beat both Marnie and Bede when the championship round came.

“Hey, you!”

If the posh accent didn’t tip her off at first, it was the way the derision and smugness wafted off Bede as Monika turned around, adjusting her ruck as she looked Bede up and down. He stood with a hand in his pocket, a cocky grin on his face and a face so punchable part of her wished she was still a soldier. “Yes?” Monika asked, actually remembering to switch to English this time.

“I’ve heard a lot of things about you,” Bede said, with that same belittling demeanor she had clocked from day one.

“Oh? And what did you hear?”

Bede scoffed, a smirk coming on that _really_ made Monika want to just drop all pretenses and smack him up a little. “Oh, not much. I heard you came from the German League. Kabu endorsed you. I’m just wondering what makes you so special.”

“Stick around on Thursday and find out,” Monika said, shrugging.

“I have a better idea,” Bede said, clutching one of his Pokeballs. “How about you and I have a little sparring match, as it were? You and me, in Hulbury’s Pokemon Park, a friendly battle. What do you say?”


	7. Shock and Awe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika is challenged by Bede.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mitodos: Duosion  
> Hypnomorba: Gothorita  
> Ponita: Ponyta  
> Brimano: Hattrem

Monika blinked, staring at Bede. The challenge was unmistakable – after all, he’d called her out more or less specifically just to battle her. On one hand, the chance to battle him was definitely worth it. On the other… what if she wasn’t prepared? She drew a sharp breath, before stuffing that notion away. If she wanted to sit and wait until she was prepared, she’d never be ready. Life didn’t just wait for her, so she shouldn’t delay. “Okay,” Monika said. “I’ll take you on, Bede.”

He smirked again, already heading out to the park. Monika reluctantly followed, letting Minh, Adriane and Zoya know that she had gotten held up and not to expect her back soon. The walk to the local park wasn’t anything special, aside from confirming to Monika that she never wanted to be in Hulbury if only for the overwhelming stench of fish alone. Cobblestone paths soon gave way to a dirt trail leading to the Pokemon Park, where paint outlined the arena for friendly Pokemon battles. Bede’s status was apparent the millisecond he stepped in, standing opposite of Monika with that cocky grin on his face.

However, the people who quickly became spectators didn’t seem to notice Monika. She wasn’t surprised – other than being the oldest competitor and from Germany, what else did she really have to differentiate her from the hundreds of others that took this challenge on? Bede lined out the rules – no different from standard tournament style, except there was no referee. They’d just have to go on honor system for now, which Monika didn’t much mind. The way she saw it, either they’d run each other to a stalemate, or one of them would beat the other into dust. If only for her own pride, Monika hoped she had the upper hand.

Bede sent out a Mitodos first, which honestly surprised Monika. She would have thought that Bede’s team would have been a bit… well, more evolved. Maybe appearances were deceiving. She shrugged, sending Mr. Good out first. After all, this Mitodos couldn’t possibly know anything that would seriously threaten him. And yet, the grin on his face was one of brash confidence, like Bede knew something she didn’t.

“Alright, Mr. Good!” Monika shouted. “Delay!”

With a mere word alone, Mr. Good set up twisted dimensions just like Glaz did against Milo. Monika preferred to go straight to the trick rooms with Mr. Good, owing to how slow he was compared to other Pokemon, and it was working perfectly this time. Mitodos was already rather gelatinous owing to its physicality, and being slowed down just added to its already strange, wave-like movements. Without further prompting, Mr. Good began holding out his arms, where white balls of energy began to form. He started spinning, slamming into the ground and impacting right into Bede’s Mitodos before it could even offer a defense.

The smarmy, cocky look on Bede’s face shattered immediately as his eyes grew wide, jaw dropping in shock. He weakly returned his Pokemon back to it’s ball, no doubt still trying to figure out where he’d gone wrong. Within a second though, he had shaken it off, replacing his shock with a facade of strength – though Monika might have been guessing a little bit with that. A Hypnomorba was his second offering, and as Monika called out Mr. Good’s second attack pattern, it sluggishly tried to move out of the way only to be felled by a flash of light. A Ponita and Brimano similarly became easy pickings, and before Monika could even blink, the battle was over and Bede didn’t have a single Pokemon that could still fight.

“Huh,” Monika muttered, recalling Mr. Good to his Pokeball. That was… different. Given the hype around Bede, she expected his team to be… well, more substantial. “So, uh… good match?”

“ _How could you do this to me?!”_ Bede shouted, pounding the ground as he fell to his knees. “I’m supposed to be the best! _The best, I tell you!_ ”

Monika shifted her weight, avoiding Bede’s eyes. “Uh… I’m gonna… go now. Have fun, I guess.” Without waiting for a response – other than a vain scream of anguish – Monika left the park, heading back to her hotel. Bede was supposed to be, what, 18, 19? He acted a hell of a lot like a kid. She began to think herself lucky that there were witnesses – nobody would have believed it if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes.

* * *

The Captain’s Table wasn’t really the sort of place Monika expected she’d be eating at. For one, she almost universally hated seafood, and a restaurant devoted almost entirely to it seemed like a punishment worse than death for her. The _good_ thing was they offered salad, and thus she kept herself full with one of the best Caesar salads she had ever had in her life. Adriane, Zoya, and Minh each had one of the celebrated fish dishes in front of them, cuts of delicate fish and jellied eels that Minh constantly said reminded her of home.

Naturally, they had been curious why Monika had been held up as they sat down, and Monika relayed the story of beating Bede senseless. Zoya found it particularly hilarious, cackling about it every time she thought about it. Their conversation quickly turned to planning to see the sights in Hulbury, such as the historic lighthouse (Adriane swore up and down it was haunted, and she wanted to see if her Kryppuk would react inside of it) and checking out the market that dominated the city center. Zoya said she had seen something called a “boot sale” near the docks and wanted to see what that was about, since in her own words “you could never have too many pairs of boots.”

“Oi! Monika, yeah?” The sound of somebody with a soft Scottish accent broke through the restaurant loud and clear, as Monika turned to the source. Hop had shown up, a host right behind silently urging him to follow him and not make a scene. He ignored the ivory host, instead making his way right to Monika’s table and clapping a hand down on her shoulder. “I saw the video of you beating Bede on Twitter! Thanks for that, he was really doing my head in!”

“He was what?” Monika asked, involuntarily in German before realizing her mistake and correcting herself, rephrasing in English.

Hop smirked, a loud belly laugh escaping as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “You know, getting under my skin! He’d beaten me four or five times before we even got out of Motostoke!”

She blinked, trying to reconcile this with what she knew of Bede’s team. How was _that_ possible? Unless Hop’s team was just weaker than she first imagined, but then… that couldn’t be right, could it? This was the brother of the legendary Leon after all. “I… don’t really know what to say, Hop.”

“Bah,” Hop muttered, waving a hand. “You don’t have to say anything. Knowing you gave Bede a thrashing is all I care about!”

“Good to know,” Zoya said. “Uh, we’re trying to have lunch here, so…?”

The host picked up on Zoya’s apprehension, gently guiding Hop to his assigned table as he bid them farewell for now. Monika breathed a heavy sigh of relief – she was sure at any second Hop was going to challenge her to a battle, and that was the _last_ thing she needed right now. Right now, clearing her head was better, and actually finishing this Caesar salad.

A pregnant pause hit the table, as they all stared at each other before breaking into a gaggle of laughter. Hop had just shown up out of _nowhere_ and given Monika probably the strangest experience she had yet in Galar. Someone’s phone soon began to ring, though, and nearly all at once, they pulled out their phones. Minh’s was the culprit, and she sighed before apologizing to them, saying she had to take the call. Almost immediately, she switched to Vietnamese. Her tone was somewhere between consternation and total dread, but Monika had no idea who in the world was on the other end of the line. Obviously someone from Vietnam, but who?

The conversation lasted all of ten minutes, with awkward silence surrounding Minh as she groaned, shaking her head and putting her phone away. “Sorry you had to hear that,” she said, angrily stabbing at the jellied eels on her plate. “That was my father.”

“What’d he want?” Zoya probed.

Minh shivered, as if a cold wind had just brushed her shoulders. She maintained a stoic face, flicking a lock of hair out of her face. “Nothing important. He wondered about some of the charges on my card, so I had to _explain_ to him that I’m living my own life.”

“Not a big fan of getting charges from over here, huh?” Monika said.

“He wants me to go back to Vietnam,” she explained. “He _especially_ wants me to take over the family business, and I will – once I see all that Galarian fashion has to offer.”

Adriane blinked, pausing as she put her fork down. “Wait, I don’t get it. What’s fashion have to do with going back home?”

“We participate in one of the largest state-owned enterprises in Vietnam,” Minh explained. “I’m to take my father’s place running the clothing business we’ve built in conjunction with Hanoi. But truthfully… I would much rather be here with all of you, especially watching Monika become champion.”

Monika felt a flush of emotion hit her, laughing nervously. “Aw, thanks, Minh,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t mention it,” Minh said, returning to her food. “Like I said, I would rather be _here_ than _there._ ”

The rest of their lunch proved uneventful, much to their relief. Once paid for and done, the task at hand was now to check out the “boot sale” that Zoya was so curious about. They followed the signs all around Hulbury, leading them down multiple alleys and narrow streets before bringing them to the opposite end of the Pokemon Park, at least a good two hundred meters away from where Monika had fought Bede earlier that day. Instead of actual boots, though, they found themselves staring at a lot of cars, their trunks opened and with all sorts of junk flowing out of them.

“What the actual fuck,” Zoya muttered in Russian, staring slackjawed at the spectacle in front of her. “Who writes ‘boot sale’ and sets this up?”

“Isn’t ‘boot’ just the English term for a car trunk?” Adriane asked, casually strolling through the parked cars and eyeing things.

“Oh my God,” Zoya said, sighing heavily. “It is. This was a waste of time, sorry guys, let’s just-”

“Ooh, what if they have something cool here?” Monika asked. “Maybe people are trying to sell off some old war stuff!”

Touring the boot sale proved at least mildly interesting, even if it wasn’t what Zoya thought it was. Monika didn’t find any militaria – nothing worth buying and shipping back home, anyway – and Adriane claimed she found some books of note, while Minh saw it more fit to simply criticize mid-80s Galarian fashion designs. Nothing worth buying, but a fun excursion nonetheless. The only thing they felt they had time for today was the Hulbury Lighthouse, doubly exciting for Adriane given it was nearing dusk now and she was sure that would be when the spirits – if there were any – would be most active.

The lighthouse stood alone at the end of an earthen pier, slowly inclining up with nothing around it except grass and a worn, beaten dirt path. The white and blue paint that ran up and down the lighthouse was faded, cracking in numerous places. How long had this been in active use? It looked _terrible._ The door creaked as they went inside, with the unique smell of “old as shit” emanating from the interior as they stepped in. Adriane immediately let her Kryppuk out, kneeling down next to it and whispering to it as Monika, Zoya and Minh headed up and around the lighthouse. The stairs were metal, painted a peeling black that flaked and fell off with each movement. It felt like the steps would break out from under them, and the wooden platforms built between each flight of stairs didn’t help with easing the tension.

“This isn’t right,” Minh said quietly. “We should get out of here.”

“What, afraid of a few squeaky stairs, Minh?”

She shook her head emphatically, saying something in hushed Vietnamese as she seemingly tracked something that flew past her. “No, it’s not that, it’s just… there’s some _really strong_ energy here, and I don’t think I like it.”

“Okay, so you’re scared,” Zoya said, shrugging. “I mean, this place is pretty creepy.”

“We’re communists but we’re not atheists,” Minh hissed. “I still believe in Buddhism, whatever’s happening here, I don’t like it. I’m going outside.”

Minh’s footsteps echoed through the lighthouse as she rushed back outside. Truth be told, Monika wasn’t feeling to thrilled about hanging around in it either. There was _something,_ she didn’t know what, but it felt like there was something malevolent that didn’t want them there. “Hey, Adriane!” Monika called out, leaning over the railing. “Did you get what you wanted?”

“Yeah,” Adriane called back, sounding disappointed. “What happened with Minh? Is she okay?”

“No, she’s pretty freaked out. Want to go back to the hotel?”

Silence. Zoya and Monika looked at each other, before shrugging and heading back down to join with Adriane at the ground level. She had already returned her Kryppuk to its Pokeball, looking like she was severely disheartened.

“What’s up?” Monika asked.

Adriane sighed, shaking her head. “Nothing. It’s just… nothing’s here. I thought there’d be _something,_ but Kryppuk didn’t act like anything was wrong. Why? What did you guys feel?”

She and Zoya relayed their experience, between Minh leaving in a hurry and Monika’s general discomfort, they all agreed that _something_ was up with the lighthouse, but there really wasn’t an adequate explanation for it. Either way, the second Monika left the lighthouse, meeting up with Minh to head back to the hotel, the feelings of oppression and doom went away.

Lying in the hotel room, Monika wondered if she had just experienced something paranormal.


	8. Swimming Pool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika challenges Nessa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tectass: Golisopod

The day had come. Monika’s battle against Nessa was only mere hours away now. She had spent a lot of time writing, jotting down strategies in her field notebook for herself if only so she wouldn’t forget them, but also revising earlier ones. These latter ones she had assumed and created essentially out of thin air, before she had the chance to properly go over Nessa’s footage and find a pattern. Lev still led her strategies, but Mr. Good and Innokentiy would be around for utility just in case. After all, it never hurt to have backups.

Or, in Monika’s case, backups, and backups to the backups.

The ritual was much like that of battling Milo – her breakfast wasn’t light by any means since the anxiety hadn’t hit her yet, but she found herself playing scenarios over and over in her head, trying to plan out any sort of possibility even though she knew full well the futility in trying to plan for the impossible. Once again, Zoya offered to stand by her side in the stadium, and she accepted this offer. Better to have her there and not need her help, Monika reasoned, than need her help and not have her there. Lunch was light today, since she knew in only a few short hours that she’d be battling Nessa.

Nessa’s stadium was even more jam-packed and chaotic than Milo’s. Season passes for her games were easily breaking $100, a steep increase from Turffield. But, with the energy and spirit that Nessa was rumored to bring, maybe that cost was worth it. General admission tickets, if the sign she saw outside the stadium as she walked in was right, ran no more than $52 per ticket. Monika shuddered to imagine what the cost of food and drinks were in here. Nessa’s entire stadium smelled strongly of chlorine and saltwater, no doubt a consequence of its proximity to the Hulbury harbor. A miniature moat surrounded the artificially blue turf, wicking water up with each tiny wave. Bede had arrived already, and pointedly refused to even _look_ at Monika. The other two competitors tonight Monika had never seen before, and they regarded her and Bede with muted indifference.

Just like at Turffield, Hulbury Stadium was blasting music every which way but sideways. For a split second, Monika was sure she saw Bede talking to an older woman with long blonde hair, but before she could look for sure, she was gone and Bede acted like nothing was even happening. _Strange._ Either way, Monika let Lev out of his Pokeball, running through the same attack patterns she had trained him on back home in Germany. No trick rooms tonight, not that she _planned_ at least. Lev’s speed and Innokentiy’s resilience didn’t warrant that strategy. The warmup period came and went quickly, and before she knew it, the opening ceremony started. The stadium went pitch-black, with a long music intro. It began to pick up as the announcer hyped up Nessa, with her cheer team preparing themselves. Right when the bass dropped, a foghorn began to blare, which signaled Nessa’s arrival in a flood of misty water. Overwhelming cheers erupted from the crown, almost matching the intensity of the foghorn. Nessa’s highlight reel showed her battling nearly every conceivable challenger, including Raihan during last season’s finals.

Finally, Nessa herself emerged, as her cheer team shot out t-shirts to random audience members. She maintained a look of stoicism on her face, as if she was waiting for someone to finally prove worthy enough to challenge her. Bede, being first, stepped up to the line just as Monika and the others began to head back to the locker room.

“Hey, not to alarm you,” Zoya said quietly, sitting next to Monika on the bench. “Nessa’s got a Tectass.”

“She’s _what?!_ ” Monika yelled, blinking as her eyes grew wide. _Surely_ she hadn’t heard right. That couldn’t be it. Tectasses were extremely rare to own, due to their flighty nature and skill required just to master their innate will to run away at the first sign of trouble.

“I was talking to Bede’s coach,” Zoya explained. “She’s got all the details of everyone’s team, told me that her Tectass was one of the strongest Pokemon Nessa’s got.”

Monika groaned, burying her head in her hands. “This is going to be a fucking disaster. What could possibly be worse?”

“Probably not a great time to mention Nessa leads with it, huh?”

“No!” Monika exclaimed, running a hand through er hair. _Okay, calm down,_ she thought. Bede was still working on Nessa’s team, so maybe… she had time. She could figure this out. First of all, it wouldn’t be fresh, it would have already been fighting by the time Monika got out there. Second… even with that flight response, Lev could easily knock it down a peg or two, make sure that whenever it came out next that it would be the last time it did so.

Cheering. Either Nessa had just won, or Bede had managed to beat her. Bede entered the locker room with an air of confidence, looking like he had just taken the world by storm. He smirked as he saw Monika, though she could tell that smirk was borne out of contempt. “Good news for me,” he said, looking down upon Monika, “is I beat Nessa, and obtained my second badge. So now it’s on to Motostoke, to beat Kabu and watch your own ambitions die.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Monika said.

“Oh, I am sure. Your team can’t beat Nessa, she’s not like _I_ was. I’d say good luck, but I need it for myself, _Kraut_.”

Monika shot out of her seat, wanting to throw punches but she was held back by Zoya. “Not worth it,” she muttered. “Prove him wrong. Let’s go beat the shit out of Nessa’s team.”

She let her fist unclench, letting out a heavy sigh. Monika turned away to head to the turf. Time to show Nessa what she was made of. The thundering roar of the crowd hit her at the same time as the wave of chlorine, as if cleansing Monika and preparing her for the battle ahead. Nessa stood next to her Tectass, spraying it with medicine as she glanced up to see Monika heading in. Zoya took her spot on the sidelines, while the referees got themselves organized. Across the turf, Nessa seemed to stare at her like she was sizing Monika up, silently assessing her skill as a trainer. Well, today Monika would _prove_ she could stay here, that her endorsement wasn’t just a fluke.

Monika released Lev from his Pokeball, and he immediately began rolling about in an attempt to discharge some static electricity. Right now, Monika felt like she was on top of the world. Nothing could come between her and her goal right now. The music died down, and the crowd fell silent, all leading up to the first whistle blowing.

“Lev! Attack Pattern Four!”

A crackle of electricity snapped and hissed as Lev began to charge up, rolling around and dodging the attacks sent out by Nessa’s Tectass. Gushes of water and screeching mixed together until Lev shot out a bolt of electricity that slammed right into Nessa’s Tectass. It immediately scurried away, retreating to the safety of its Pokeball as the referees called a time-out. Nessa wasted no time, sending a Morlord out.

_Fuck,_ Monika thought. This was the exact _opposite_ of what she wanted. She called a timeout as well, internally debating whether it would be more beneficial to send Innokentiy out now or try to set down toxic spikes with Veronika. Zoya jogged over the second the whistle blew, shoving her hands in her pockets. “So?” Zoya asked, looking over at Nessa’s Morlord. “What’s your plan?”

“Okay, I’m thinking I can approach this one of two ways,” Monika said. “Either send Innokentiy out now, or send Veronika out to set up spikes to check that Tectass.”

Zoya nodded, glancing over at Nessa’s Morlord. “You’ve only got two timeouts if that fucker comes out again and your Woingenau’s in play,” she reminded her. “Is that a risk you want to take?”

“I have to,” Monika said, shaking her head. “That Tectass is too dangerous, and I can’t spend time setting up a single counter to it and hope it works.”

“If that’s what you think the play is, go for it,” Zoya said, nodding as the timeout began to dwindle down. The whistle call came in – Monika either had to throw out a Pokemon, or keep Lev in. Keeping Lev in was tantamount to suicide, and so Monika did the only thing she could see and let Innokentiy take the field.

There was only mere seconds to figure out what sort of attacks that Nessa’s Morlord would go for. Most trainers had their Morlords focus on overwhelming physical attacks, like punches or even earth-shattering moves. That was probably Nessa’s ploy – tank damage and hit back just as hard. “Innokentiy!” Monika shouted. “Defense Plan One!” With a crisp salute – it still cracked her up how Innokentiy managed to _always_ imitate that perfectly ever since she came back from the Army – Innokentiy faced Nessa’s Morlord, ready to face the storm.

Morlord came for Innokentiy with a closed fist, ice forming around it as it charged. Innokentiy’s tail began to glow orange, eventually becoming outlined in a red aura. The ice shattered as it hit him, bouncing around the arena and sending Morlord flying back while Innokentiy remained unmoved and apparently unperturbed. In response, Innokentiy began clapping its arms, crying out as if giving Morlord a standing ovation. _Perfect._ Nessa was shouting, trying to figure a way out of this, but it was too late. The damage had already been done, and now that Nessa’s Morlord was compelled to continue attacking with ice punches, all Monika had to do was wait for it to knock itself out. Each punch just knocked it back even more, until the call came in that Nessa’s Morlord was unable to fight. Before even the first whistle could come in, Nessa had sent out her Tectass, which was eager to make up for its retreat earlier.

The second the battle went back to full swing, Nessa’s Tectass charged. Once again, Innokentiy prepared a counter right as Tectass came swinging. Monika couldn’t help but smile. Even one of Nessa’s most powerful Pokemon was falling prey to her strategy. Incensed, Tectass conjured a claw of shadows, striking Innokentiy harshly and displacing him from the stoic position he’d been maintaining. _Alright, less than stellar,_ Monika thought. Innokentiy hadn’t been able to prepare a counter yet. No time to force it into an encore or shield – Monika had to switch out now. She called a time-out, swapping Lev for Innokentiy and returning to her first strategy of just using speed and electricity to win the day.

Not even this seemed to help her, though. Nessa’s Tectass was about as quick as Lev was, and despite practically charging the field with electricity, Lev and Tectass dodged each other and only narrowly avoiding attacks. It was as back and forth as it ever could be, and each missed attack and glancing blow just drove Monika further and further up the wall. This was supposed to be _easy,_ goddammit. Nothing she was doing was _working._ Changing up the attack patterns wouldn’t help – just as quickly as Lev switched gears, Tectass reacted and changed up its style. Unless…

“Lev! Delay Pattern!” Without a second’s hesitation, Lev stopped attacking, intentionally leaking acid on Tectass. This forced it to screech in pain, giving Lev time to set up a reflective shield that hopefully would safeguard him from any potential attacks. Nessa’s Tectass came back with a vengeance, but each attack Lev merely dodged – this time far more intentionally than not. The toxic acid slowly wore away at Nessa’s Tectass, and for a split second Monika could see Nessa’s face twisting and turning. She must have figured out what Monika was up to, because she called a timeout. Just like before, Zoya headed over, glancing over at the cheer team as they headed out to hype up the crowd.

“Why’d she call the timeout?” Zoya asked, folding her arms. “Doesn’t seem smart to swap out that Tectass now.”

“She’s figured out what I’m going for,” Monika answered. “I’m sure of it. Lev’s poisoned her Tectass, and with the dodging and screens, it can’t fight back as effectively as it wants, so when it tires out Lev can just hit it with electricity and knock it out for good.”

Zoya nodded. She and Monika turned to look at Nessa kneeling on the turf, staring at Lev as if she was trying to figure something out. “That’s pretty smart. What do you think she plans to do about it?”

Monika sighed. There were a _lot_ of things Nessa could try to do about it, and Monika wasn’t sure she liked any of them. “I don’t know. I think either way? Tectass is going to be out of this fight soon. She’s out of timeouts now.

The referees blew their whistles as Nessa stood up again, sending her Tectass forward. Zoya fell back to the side of the turf, and Lev rolled out to face Tectass in battle again. The fight was lightning-paced, with dizzying speed displayed by both Pokemon as Lev dodged further attacks and zapped Tectass with short bursts of electricity, only furthering Tectass’s descent into rage and unchecked fury. Monika smiled, knowing she had gotten the upper hand. Nessa couldn’t do much to reign in control of her Pokemon now, and could only stand by as Lev delivered a final shocking blow, causing the crowd to fall silent. Nessa waved off the referees, sending out a Pelipper. The second it appeared, dark clouds formed above Monika’s head, limited only by the height of the stadium as rain began to fall.

“Lev!” Monika shouted as the whistles faded out. “Attack Pattern One!”

As if watching it unfold in slow motion, Monika watched Lev charge up for a devastating electrical attack. The raindrops helped conduct his electricity, striking Pelipper with a shuddering clap of thunder. With a final, loud blow, the referees called the battle in Monika’s favor. Nessa had apparently only brought three Pokemon today, which now meant that Monika had beaten two gym leaders on her path to the championship. The same foghorn that signaled Nessa’s arrival now marked her defeat, and as she returned Pelipper to its Pokeball, she and Monika met each other in the middle of the turf.

“I had heard Kabu endorsed you,” Nessa said as she worked the Water Badge over in her hand. “Now that I’ve battled you, I think I understand. You have the same fire and spirit that he did when he first came here, and if I may be so bold, you can take on even Leon.”

Monika nodded, swallowing audibly as Nessa handed over the badge. “Thank you, Leader Nessa,” she said, partially stumbling over her own words.

“Kabu will definitely want to see how far you’ve come,” Nessa said. “Good luck against him, Monika.”


	9. Scorched Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika challenges Kabu in Motostoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qurtel: Torkoal  
> Vulnona: Ninetales  
> Arkani: Arcanine

Prior to arriving in Motostoke for the second time, Monika and her friends went off the beaten path to descend to the so-called Wild Area, a place chock-full of Pokemon and mostly untouched by people except to bridge rivers and carve out paths through thick forests. A vast majority of wild Galarian Smogmogs could be found here, just waiting to be caught and trained. Their absurd mustaches and beards made out of polluted material and tall tophat-like vents that ejected steam made Monika regard Galarian Smogmogs like Victorian-era factory owners, looking down on their workers with a pocketwatch in hand, grumbling about “safe working conditions” and other such “liberal nonsense.” Their sizes varied, from small ones that looked like they had recently evolved to larger ones that, by her best guess, were hard-set in their ways and would be difficult to train.

Monika decided to go for a smaller one, deciding it was easier to train one that had recently evolved rather than attempting to work out old habits from an older Pokemon. Mr. Good would have to be the star here – better to put it to sleep than try fighting it down, and his steel typing made him immune to the poisonous attacks it might have up its sleeve. Monika released Mr. Good from his Pokeball, quietly ordering him to use his psychic powers to put the targeted Smogmog to sleep. This happened fairly quickly as easily, with Monika sitting camouflaged in the bushes, avoiding being seen. A weak psychic attack made the Smogmog even easier to catch, and before even three minutes had passed, Monika threw the Pokeball out and watched it bounce off the Smogmog, peacefully asleep on the ground.

The ball rattled only twice before clicking shut and turning green, indicating that the Pokemon had decided to stay within the Pokeball. Satisfied, Monika headed over to the newly-captured Pokemon, holding it in her hand. “Well, guess I can add that to my Pokedex,” Monika said, taking out a permanent marker. This made the 20th Pokemon she had caught for her team, and she marked the Pokeball appropriately.

“Think you’ll use it against Kabu?” Adriane asked, emerging from the trees with Zoya and Minh.

“Probably not,” Monika said. “I think my current team can go up against Kabu fine. I mean, he usually uses fire types, so how hard can it be?”

Minh hummed, looking somewhat skeptical. “I don’t know. A lot of the articles around Kabu say that he’s the end point for a lot of challengers. He’s a litmus test of sorts for a lot of people.”

“Look, Bede’s probably waiting to go up against him now,” Zoya said. “If _Bede_ can beat Nessa and Kabu, then you should be fine, Monika.”

Monika couldn’t help but smirk, chuckling as she put Smogmog’s Pokeball in her pocket. She’d have to figure out a name for it later – it usually took her a few days of training to determine names for Pokemon. “Well, when you put it like that, then I’m feeling positively good going into this.”

A cool breeze passed over the clearing they were in, shaking the trees softly as rustling leaves mixed with subtle whistling from the branches. Monika hadn’t felt this confident about heading into a challenge in a long time. Even better, it was against Kabu. He had seen something in Monika, and even though they hadn’t talked much, Monika still regarded him almost like a mentor. Beating him would only prove that he had made the right decision in endorsing her for the Galarian League.

“Come on,” Monika said, snapping her pocket closed. “Let’s go to Motostoke. I want to be first in line to battle Kabu on Sunday.”

* * *

There had been no anxiety surrounding Monika before that morning’s approach to the Motostoke Stadium. She had been here before, knew the routes around the stadium and at least a passing knowledge of what to expect, and the confidence boost by beating Marnie and her team only added to Monika’s feelings of superiority. Kabu did not appear before the warmups started, and not at all until the stadium darkened to signal his entrance. He had a heavy electronic beat to his arrival, marked by his Qurtel setting a smokescreen that filled the stadium. Kabu’s Arkani and Vulnona leaped over torches, lighting them with their flame breath as they passed over each one as he lightly jogged behind them, approaching the center of the turf. Coals dotted the battlefield, but they were fake, just for show and not posing a serious threat to anyone.

“Challenger Monika,” he said, bowing to her. “You have beaten Milo and Nessa. I would be lying if I said I did not expect it.”

Monika returned the boy, wondering if it was normal for Kabu to take the time to talk to each challenger he face. “Thank you, Leader Kabu. I’ll prove my worth to you today. You didn’t make the wrong choice!”

“We shall see,” he said, gripping the towel around his neck before taking several steps back. “This is your first serious challenge, Monika! Will you be burned by the strength of my Pokemon’s blazing inferno, or will you become stronger because of it?”

Predictably, the crowd went nuts as the whistles blew, and Kabu sent out his Vulnona first. Monika replied with Veronika, more than ready to extinguish Kabu’s Pokemon for good.

As the battle started, Monika called out for a standard delay pattern. Veronika responded by laying down toxic spikes to screen Kabu’s future Pokemon. However, instead of responding with typical bursts of flame, Kabu’s Vulnona stood its ground, its eyes glowing. A burst of rainbow-colored energy emanated from its open mouth, hitting Veronika. She began to flail around, apparently disoriented and confused by the attack. What the fuck? Monika frowned, furrowing her brow – this didn’t make any sense. What was… wait. Was this a psychic attack? How did Kabu’s Vulnona know psychic attacks?

Monika blinked, trying to overcome the initial shock of Kabu deciding to open up in exactly the opposite way she thought he would. “Veronika, uh… _fuck,_ Attack Pattern Two!” No time to delay or set up more spikes. If Kabu was going after Veronika with psychic attacks, then she had to fight fire with proverbial fire. Time to drown Kabu’s Pokemon out and move on to the next gym. A harsh stream of water burst forth from Veronika’s front stinger, but Vulnona just dodged it with ease, charging up a greenish-blue ball that practically chased Veronika at high speed. Within mere seconds, Veronika was on her last proverbial legs, struggling to even flick water at Kabu’s Vulnona. Almost like a cruel joke, Vulnona just charged right into Veronika and knocked her over, signaling a whistle blow. Veronika was no longer fit to fight by the referee’s decree.

Wide-eyed and in shock, Monika recalled Veronika to her Pokeball, hands shaking as Zoya ran over. She stepped in front of Monika, staring into her eyes and lifting her head up. “Hey, look at me, you alright?”

“I… That Vulnona just wrecked her…”

“Yeah, I saw it happen. Look, you always have a backup plan, right? So what’s Plan B?”

Monika let out a heaving, shaky breath, blinking rapidly. “Uh, I… the spikes are still down, so… I mean, if Hans and Lev can… but they’re too slow to match that.”

“Then get your Zwirrfinst in play,” Zoya said. “Pull off that twisted dimension play you did with Milo. He’s only got three Pokemon, you can handle that.”

Two short whistles. Time was running out. Monika had to act, and fast. She nodded, prompting Zoya to head back to the sidelines. Well, no time like now, she had to go with it. Even though she wasn’t expecting to have to do it, Glaz came out. He was more than ready for a fight, and almost seemed to _loathe_ that Monika called for the trick room action. Still, he followed it, and soon the twisted dimensions came into play as Vulnona began to move slowly.

But that didn’t even seem to stop it. Glaz’s attacks seemed to miss more often than not, and even when they _did_ hit, it didn’t look like they even did much damage. Monika was forced to watch as Kabu seemingly had an answer for all of her Pokemon, this time ordering Vulnona to attack with a dark, nebulous ray of energy that sent Glaz down in one hit. The trick room was still in effect, so Hans was up next to do what he could. It _had_ to be here, Monika silently declared. If Hans couldn’t turn it around, then she would have to force Mr. Good and Innokentiy out, and she did not like the odds of that. Lev could probably handle this, but he lacked the endurance that was necessary to take on three Pokemon.

Hans opened up by standing tall, jumping up in the air and slamming back down into the ground with a shuddering roar. The battlefield shook, but Kabu and his Vulnona stood unmoved, like they knew something Monika didn’t. Despite visibly weakened by the earthquake, Vulnona came back with an overwhelming inferno that consumed Hans, and he feel to his knees, weakly trying to bat back the flames. Little could be done, though, and he too was declared down and out.

Monika felt the panic set in. This wasn’t right. She was supposed to be able to win this, so how was Kabu able to knock out three of her Pokemon without her being able to even get this stupid fucking Vulnona? Lev was up next as the twisted dimensions came back to normal, and her voice became shaky as she tried to confidently call out orders. Nothing was _working._ Even Lev, one of her fastest Pokemon, could not stand up to Vulnona’s blazing pace. The only good thing about it was that she had managed to actually knock it out now, with a blast of electricity that she considered more pure luck than anything else.

Kabu dispatched his Arkani next, folding his arms as he watched it roar. At least they were on even terms now as far as Pokemon went. It still irritated Monika that he had knocked out half her team with little effort, but then again he wasn’t a gym leader for nothing. The second the whistle blew, however, Arkani charged for Lev, rearing back and slamming its front paws into the ground with an orange glow, immediately knocking him back. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck._ Monika returned Lev to his Pokeball even before the whistle came in.

“I’m fucking done for,” Monika said, feeling as if her mind was slipping out of her body. “All I have left is Innokentiy and Mr. Good. I can’t fucking win.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Zoya said. “Look, that Arkani is poisoned, and it’ll _stay_ poisoned. Just get your Woingenau out, and hold off until the poison gets it, alright? You got this.”

Monika nodded, but she couldn’t say she was feeling particularly confident in this plan. If Innokentiy got knocked out by a good hit… then she definitely was done for.

“Innokentiy, Defense Plan Three!” Monika called, far less confidently than she normally would have. With the same crisp salute, Innokentiy turned to face Arkani, which was now coughing as it began to feel the effects of the poison. Arkani seemed like it preferred non-physical attacks. She had to hope her guess was right. Monika could do nothing but watch as Arkani again charged forward, its fangs glowing as it opened its jaw wide and chomped down on Innokentiy. The white sheen that covered Innokentiy didn’t reach to the part where he had been bitten, and Monika felt her heart torn in two as he cried out in pain, tossed around the arena by Arkani. She didn’t need to hear the whistle to know what happened.

Monika looked down at Mr. Good’s Pokeball, a crude 1 written on it. It had become faded, of course, worn after years of having him by her side. As much as she wanted to believe this was the start of the comeback, Monika had to face reality. This was not a battle she could win. “I’m sorry, buddy,” Monika said quietly as she sent Mr. Good out. Kabu immediately called a timeout, swapping his Arkani with… _oh god._ What the fuck even was this? The announcer raved about Kabu’s famous _Centiskorch_ arriving, but Monika didn’t have any clue what this was other than the final nail in the coffin for her battle. A fully prepared Pokemon, ready to go and with a type advantage over Mr. Good to boot? Monika felt her shoulders drop, sighing heavily as she just wished Kabu would take mercy on her and end this quickly.

Kabu did not wait long. Monika felt almost as if she could feel the heat consuming Mr. Good alongside him, already preparing his Pokeball as the whistles began to blow. She fell to her knees, her vision blurring as she brought Mr. Good back to safety. _Don’t fucking cry,_ she willed herself, finding her own body reluctant to listen to her. Monika didn’t remember what Kabu said to her afterwards, if anything. She didn’t remember walking back into the locker room. She didn’t remember leaving the stadium.

All she remembered was the look of disappointment on Kabu’s face.


	10. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika deals with the fallout of losing to Kabu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lepumentas: Claydol  
> Furnifraß: Heatmor  
> Relaxo: Snorlax  
> Trombork: Trevenant  
> Intelleon: Inteleon  
> Infernopod: Centiskorch

Monika sat on a bench outside of Motostoke Stadium, staring ahead as the rain poured down. Cars rolled by, giving off a strange rippling noise effect as they dragged rain from the roads on and off their tires, with each drop smacking into her hood and occasionally mixing with the tears on her face. She didn’t know when her clothes had gotten soaked with rain, and honestly wasn’t sure how long she had been out here.

Long enough that Zoya had already gone back to the hotel, evidently.

She barely even knew how to react anymore, between just letting the tears flow as freely as the rain did, cascading off her face and making it nearly impossible to see. Fans began to filter out of the stadium, apparently having seen their favored challenger win, with Team Yell, Marnie’s personal cheer team that followed her everywhere, loudly proclaiming that Marnie had done the improbable and beaten Kabu’s all-star team. So, that’s how it was. Monika had not only failed to beat Kabu, the man who had endorsed her to begin this entire fruitless journey, but she had managed to beat a weaker team that annihilated Kabu’s.

If there was ever a better way to describe how hollow Monika felt, she couldn’t find it. Marnie approached her, holding Team Yell back with one of her hands as they began to jeer.

“What, you don’t want Team Yell to gloat for you?” Monika asked, barely even able to look at Marnie in the eyes. “Had to do it yourself?”

Marnie blinked, tilting her head to the side as she held her black parasol over both of them. “Why would I do that?” she asked.

“You did what I couldn’t,” Monika replied, sighing heavily. She could have sworn that she had it all figured out, too. Where had she gone wrong? “That seems like a reason to brag to me, especially after I beat you.”

Instead of responding, Marnie just stood there. The silence was deafening, and innate curiosity and desire to know what the _fuck_ Marnie was doing over here made Monika look up. Marnie didn’t have a stoic, unperturbed look on her face any longer – it was replaced by one that was a mix of sadness and empathy. “Well, yeah, you did beat me,” Marnie finally said. “I was kinda surprised when Kabu beat you an’ all. But that don’t mean I have to lord it over you.”

“So then why are you here?”

Marnie nervously looked around, glancing back only once at Team Yell. It was almost like she was afraid of someone seeing her here. “I don’t really know,” she finally answered, shrugging. “My Morpeko seems to like you, even after your Slaking beat the stuffing outta her. So, I guess that means you’re not that bad a person, yanno? I’ve seen you battle, and you’re a pretty good trainer. Guess I just wanted to tell you I hope you beat Kabu and we meet up in the finals.”

Huh. She… hadn’t really expected that out of Marnie. Well, no, she _had,_ honestly. If it had been Bede here… he would have poked and prodded Monika even more, and instead of sitting here in the rain, she’d probably have broken his nose or something and landed herself in a prison cell. Monika suddenly felt incredibly thankful that despite her rough exterior, Marnie wasn’t anywhere near as big a dick as Bede. Monika blinked slowly, swallowing hard. “Thanks, I guess. Um… I think that helps.”

Marnie nodded, smiling softly as maintaining as much eye contact as she could while she turned away, heading back to Team Yell that quickly enveloped her with cheers and singing her praises. As they moved out together, Monika could hear her chastising them for kicking Monika while she was already down.

She smirked, finding at least _something_ good to smile at. But just as quickly as it came, it dropped off her face as she again turned back to trying to figure out how she had gone so wrong against Kabu. Nothing made sense to her anymore. Logically, she should have been able to beat his team no problem, but… just _what_ had happened? What could she have done differently? The theories and possibilities eluded her grasp, and Monika felt herself spiraling deeper into a pit of despair. It was the Minor League all over again.

In the blink of an eye, Adriane had shown up, gently tugging at her arm in the direction of the hotel. “Monika, come on, let’s get out of the rain,” she said.

“I like it out here,” Monika said.

“No you don’t, don’t lie to me.” Adriane pulled Monika up, and she found herself not resisting Adriane’s pull. Like a sleepwalking teenager, she shuffled behind her friend back to the hotel, barely registering heading up into their room and taking off her soaked jacket. Falling on the bed and staring up at the ceiling proved to be the most conscious and aware she had been since the referees declared that she had lost to Kabu.

She didn’t know how long she spent sitting on the bed, staring at an unchanging pattern on the ceiling, dragging her hands across her face and only getting smudged makeup and half-dried tears in response. Monika blinked, taking a deep breath in. Something had to change, right? After all, she couldn’t possibly win if she just sat around feeling like shit?

And yet, memories of losing at the Minor League flooded back, the beginning of a losing streak that led to her calling it quits entirely and abandoning the idea of ever becoming champion of anything. Who did she think she was, to just come to the Galar League where only the best of the best ever survive, deluding herself and fooling Kabu into believing that she could go any farther than past the easiest stages? These were people that trained their whole _lives_ to do this. She was just some random girl from Germany. Who gave a fuck about her?

“You ready to talk about it?” Zoya asked, letting her hair down just as Monika looked over.

She sighed, wishing that the world would just swallow her whole right then and now. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” Zoya said. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“What _good fucking news_ can you possibly give me after today?” Monika asked, furrowing her brow.

Zoya smirked, handing Monika her phone. “Bede got his ass kicked by Kabu.”

Confused, Monika took the phone and glazed over the article. She smirked when she saw a picture of Bede looking about half as shocked as he had been when she beat him. Okay, Zoya was right – that _was_ good news. “What’s the bad news, then?”

“I think I know why you lost.”

“How’s that bad?”

Zoya chuckled, taking a sharp, hesitant breath. “You won’t like hearing it.”

“I think we’re a bit past that, so go for it, lay it on me,” Monika said, chuckling herself. Somehow, the thought of Bede being so absurdly decimated by Kabu’s team distracted her enough to stop being such a useless bitch and actually focus on what mattered – beating Kabu.

“First of all, you didn’t take the time to study Kabu’s team like you did Nessa and Milo,” Zoya said, drumming her fingers on her knee. “This contributed to the next part. You opened with spikes to screen Kabu’s team, when his team doesn’t focus on switching Pokemon out.”

Monika blinked, sliding up to be able to actually see the walls and TV, rather than just staring at the ceiling. “I don’t follow. How wouldn’t the spikes help?”

Zoya sat up, leaning over to Monika’s side of the bed and handing her a sheet of paper. On it, Zoya had sketched out how the fight had gone down, replacing Pokemon with NATO symbols for individual elements. “Look at it this way. Kabu was operating with a highly mobile force intended primarily for hit and run attacks. Your team was focused on affecting battlefield conditions to your favor, but they couldn’t handle high speed attacks more than once or twice.”

“Wait, I think I get it,” Monika said. “So when I had the toxic spikes out-”

“You were addressing a threat that wasn’t there. Kabu’s team doesn’t care about toxic spikes, because they take down everything that can threaten it before the poison sets in. I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I thought about it…”

Monika nodded, sighing. Of course. She should have anticipated this. “It just makes sense, yeah. Fuck. I should’ve known. I should have watched him at least once.”

“So, what are you going to do now?” Minh asked. “Kabu’s next open day is Friday. Assuming nobody else takes it, that gives you four and a half days to prepare to fight him.”

She blanked out, staring at the analysis that Zoya had made while trying to figure something out. Watching his next game had to be one of them. If Marnie was still around… if she could somehow catch up to her, convince her to stay a day or two, she could test a new team against Marnie. But would that help? She had beat Marnie with her current team, and that hadn’t gone particularly well for her. Monika sighed. “I think what I’m going to have to do, first of all, is get some of my other Pokemon from Germany,” she admitted. “I have a few that I think I can fit in, but…”

“How’s about this as a plan,” Zoya said. “Tomorrow, you go through your Pokemon and find some you think can help and train with them. Tuesday, we’ll all go to Kabu’s match and take notes. Wednesday, new team, new strategy, you versus me. Thursday, correct and implement anything new from that battle. Sound good?”

Monika nodded, already thinking of some Pokemon she could call from back home. Her Kingler, Anatoli, would help out a hell of a lot. Her Lepumentas, Kazimir, could help set up stealth rocks to impede Kabu’s hit-and-run style of attacking. “Let’s do it,” she said. Hell, Monika was feeling better already about all this.

* * *

The stands in Kabu’s stadium were about as hot as the floor was, and Monika honestly wondered if it was intentional or not. The fans didn’t seem to much mind it though, cheering as loudly as ever despite the intense heat and humidity that consumed every seat. How many people could even be here? Monika thought someone mentioned this could easily hold twenty thousand people, but now she wasn’t so sure. It seemed like double or even triple that number. Double luck for her – Hop was up to challenge Kabu today. He seemed like nothing affected him. Had he heard what happened with her? Probably. Against her own better judgment, Monika browsed local news and had seen that someone wrote an article about her defeat, conveniently showing Mr. Good blasted by fire. _Yup, fucking perfect,_ she thought. What better way to call a trainer’s credentials into question than show them using a hilariously unsuited Pokemon in a match?

Despite the press driving her down, Monika focused on Hop’s incoming battle. His team was varied, as expected, with a Furnifraß, Relaxo, Trombork, and a Pokemon she’d never seen before, apparently called an Intelleon. Honestly, the only downside to it that Monika could see was that Hop’s team wasn’t overly focused on solely beating Kabu, and given how a varied team had gone for Monika, she wondered if Hop would suffer the same fate.

She, Zoya and Minh took as many notes as they could, shouting to make themselves heard above the noise of the crowd and general stadium as they watched Kabu’s team work. He apparently only had the same three Pokemon that he used against Monika, and it was almost like watching a replay of her own fight. Hop’s Trombork fell quickly, as expected, but maybe Hop considered it more like a sacrificial lamb to scout out how fast Kabu’s team acted? His Intelleon emerged immediately after, deftly dodging the charges from Vulnona and sniping it with expertly placed jets of water. Honestly, Hop’s Intelleon did much more in a short span than any of Monika’s Pokemon did during the entire battle, and before she knew it, Vulnona was declared out. So, would Kabu stick with Arkani or bring out his Infernopod?

He went with Arkani. Almost the second it came out, it charged for Intelleon with electricity-charged fangs, and not even Intelleon’s precise water attacks could stop it. It didn’t take long for the referees to call Intelleon out, which only left two Pokemon for Hop, and two for Kabu, even odds. Hop resorted to his Relaxo next, utilizing heavy rock attacks. Monika was more interested in the response from Kabu, though, continuing to utilize speed and hard-hitting attacks than anything else. The only thing preventing Hop’s Relaxo from falling was the incredibly thick fat that insulated it against fire attacks.

“How do you even work against that speed?” Monika wondered aloud. “Even trick room didn’t work on these things, and these are some pretty fast Pokemon.”

“Attack, attack, attack,” Minh said, shaking her head. “He takes out targets before they’re threats. Just look at Hop, he wasn’t expecting this kind of fight.”

Monika looked up at the screen, conveniently showing Hop’s concerned face. He was sweating, and Monika was almost entirely sure it wasn’t because of the heat. Hop looked like he was genuinely fearful for his own life, as if losing here meant he would be taken outside and executing for his failure. In a flash, the cameras focused back on the action as Kabu and Hop continued to fight a proxy war with their Pokemon, each one trading hits and blows like it was nothing.

Eventually, Hop’s Relaxo delivered a knockout hit, which ended Arkani’s bid to see this battle to the end. That only left Kabu’s Infernopod, the terror that ended many a challenger’s dream of moving on to Stow-on-Side. It skittered out of its Pokeball as the whistle blew, working to constrict Relaxo and prevent it from easily moving. Almost like it was just annoyed, Relaxo grabbed Kabu’s Infernopod and threw it away, causing it to react quickly and get back on its feet. This speed proved to be too much for Relaxo, and before it could even respond, Infernopod had attacked it and sent Relaxo flying on its back, landing on the turf with a thud that could be heard even over the music and cheering.

So, that just left Hop’s Furnifraß. Kabu’s Infernopod didn’t look like it had taken much damage, so it was as even a fight as could possibly be. Monika watched Infernopod’s movements closely, as well as monitoring Kabu during the time. He simply stood there with his arms crossed, occasionally dabbing at his forehead with the towel around his neck while Infernopod went to work, setting up traps and scorching Furnifraß with ineffective blasts of fire. Kabu picked up on this, calling for some sort of changeup. Infernopod attacked with boiling hot water, but Furnifraß apparently expected this – how, Monika didn’t know and didn’t care to speculate – and countered by burying Infernopod in heaving, hot rocks that were scattered about the arena. The crushing effect was enough – before even ten minutes were up, Kabu had been defeated by Hop.

Monika had a lot to go over when she got back to the hotel room.


	11. German Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika sets out to find a new Pokemon to add to her team, and stopping in Circhester gives them all a chance for a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legios: Falinx

Grey clouds filtered out the harshest sunlight as they approached Route 8, but not by much. Vibrant colors still dominated the route as the sun beat down on the red-brown stones and dusty paths, with wind picking up small clouds of dust and sprinkling it around. Through the clouds, spots of blue sky reached through, like windows into the heavens themselves. Wild Pokemon stayed off the main path for the most part, keeping to the ancient ruins that dotted the sides of the road and crumbling castles that no doubt had once been strongpoints for warring British monarchs and counts in centuries past.

Of course, Monika couldn’t find any Pokemon just by wandering down the main road – no, any decent trainer went off the beaten path, sought out Pokemon that were too afraid to stray out or hunt down particularly stubborn ones. Already, she could hear the sound of at least six Legios marching about, with even more clashing of shields against one another. Legios were almost rabidly territorial – it was sort of a wonder Monika could hear this many to begin with, and that one or two others hadn’t bullied their competitors out. Then again, maybe these _were_ the survivors of that sort of mini-war.

She crept up silently with Minh, Adriane and Zoya close behind, each one on the lookout for a potential candidate. If what Monika had read about these Pokemon was true, she could definitely use one in Circhester against Melony. Better to pick an older one in this case – even with the bad wild habits, the inherent discipline was well worth it. One bolted upon sighting her – not unusual, really. The others paid them no mind as they were busy either marching to an unknown destination, a tiny, incomprehensible cadence emanating from them as they stepped in a familiar pattern, or squaring off with one another.

A larger one – actually, the largest now that she considered it – stood in a classic V-shape, the brass bashing its two chipped shields together as the troopers marched in place. Another brass leader stood opposite of it about four meters away, calling out a squeaky series of commands as its troopers settled into a line formation.

“That’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” Zoya said quietly, watching the tiny battle unfold. The troopers and brass couldn’t have been any taller than a meter, if that.

“That big one,” Monika said, pointing out the chosen Legios. “I’m gonna catch it.”

Minh nodded, already preparing her Frosdedje. “Want us to chase the others off?”

“They’ll probably just run back to their territory,” Monika said, shaking her head. “Well, except that one. I think they’re getting ready to fight each other.”

Before anyone could even think to discuss a plan of action, the two Legios began to brawl. Shrill war cries emanated from the troopers as they charged forward, with the brass leaders at the head of the formation. It honestly sounded like a miniature Sparta reenactment, with clashing shields and sounds that Monika began to suspect were actually products of the troopers’ imaginations more than anything else. Well, no time like now to intervene. Monika sent out Mr. Good, with Minh taking the lead from Zoya and dispatching her Frosdedje. Minh and Frosdedje began chasing the smaller Legions off, prompting a general mass retreat from the others as the one Monika had picked oriented itself to stand against her, chanting and shouting the whole way.

The Legios moved first, the tiny troopers charging at Mr. Good without a care in the world. They gathered themselves up around him, smacking him with their shields and shouting victoriously each time they got a hit. The brass leader raised his shields and legs up alternatively, directing them to continue attacking even without any obviously clear results. Mr. Good turned around, and though his face remained unchanged, Monika knew his reaction had to be “what the fuck is this?”

“Attack Pattern Four,” Monika said. No need to shout, after all. Mr. Good nodded, turning around and rapidly spinning to throw the Legios troopers off and away. They rolled away like marbles, tumbling over each other and screaming the whole way. Without even a moment’s hesitation, the Legios reformed into a square formation – or at least, the best square formation it could pull off with only five members to the unit. Mr. Good wasted no time, hitting the formation with a wave of psychic energy that seemed to shatter their confidence.

“Mr. Good, put them to sleep!” Monika called. They had already taken two hits, and while she didn’t think it was truly enough, getting them knocked out and unable to move even further was best. Mr. Good’s eyes glowed, sending hypnotic suggestions to the Legios, to which it immediately fell asleep… standing up. It stood exactly in the same formation it had assumed, without even slouching over to sleep. Monika couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Literally nobody would ever believe her if she had told them about this after the fact.

“Oh my God,” Zoya said, smiling as she came up. “Did it fall asleep standing up?”

“Yeah,” Monika said in between fits of laughter. “I can’t deal with this, holy fuck.”

“If you’re too busy laughing to catch it, I’ll take it myself,” Zoya said.

Monika shook her head, calming herself as she prepped a Pokeball. “No, no, it’s cool, I got it.”

She threw the Pokeball out, watching it bounce off the Legios and capturing it. Two shakes, per usual, and then a solid, confirmed lock. _Hell yeah._ Number 21, caught and ready to train. Well, ready to train after visiting a Pokecenter, of course.

“Get what you came for?” Adriane asked, linking up with them with Minh in tow.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Monika said, stuffing Legios’ Pokeball into a pocket. _Montagne._ That sounds like a good name. Like a mountain, or Rook maybe. She’d have to flip a coin or something to truly decide.

“Alright, time to get to Circhester,” Minh said. “I can hear the hot spring calling my name already…”

* * *

It’d been a long, _long_ time since Monika had been to a hot spring. Come to think of it, she hadn’t been in one since leaving the Army. It kind of surprised her that it’d been that long. She’d already read up on the Circhester hot springs on the walk to Circhester, and it was famous for just about anything someone could ask for. Courteous staff, excellent facilities, rave reviews about leaving its visitors rejuvenated and ready for anything…

So why was she so nervous right now?

Well. She knew _why._ This was the first time she’d ever been nude in front of others before, as _herself,_ and the prospect of people judging her was terrifying. Minh and Zoya had gone ahead to claim the “good spots” in the spring, leaving Monika alone with Adriane for now, underwear in hand and willing herself to pick up a towel. Unfortunately, her mind and body were disagreeing, and her hands refused to move.

“Monika?” Adriane asked, brushing her hair back. “Are you alright?”

She blinked, trying to figure out the words. “I… well, I… I guess I’m just nervous is all.”

“About what?” Adriane asked, furrowing her brow. She seemed genuinely confused. Why shouldn’t she be, after all?

“I’m just… I don’t know, what if people stare at me?”

Adriane blinked, still confused. God, if Monika was nervous _before,_ trying to _say it_ so Adriane would pick up on her anxiety was sending her into panic-induced overdrive. “Wait,” Adriane said, “are you worried because you’re trans?”

“I know it’s stupid but…”

“No, it’s not stupid at all,” Adriane said, wrapping her in a hug. “You’re as much of a woman as Zoya, Minh and I, okay? You told me this is who you were, and if anyone wants to tell you otherwise or give you shit about it? We’ll back you up. _All_ of us.”

Monika paused, unsure how to take this for a second. Eventually, she decided it was best to just return the hug, holding Adriane tightly, as if that’d stop herself from crying, which of course it didn’t. She still felt the faint whispers of tears roll down her face, immediately regretful that she had let _emotions_ come out.

Then again, pretending that she was always okay when she really wasn’t never helped her before. Having facades sounded like fun until the actual work to maintain them set in. Maybe the hot spring would let her take that off for a bit, sort of reset herself. Hell, at this point, Monika felt like she needed to just pretend like nothing else existed for a while before going up against Melony.

“Better?” Adriane asked, pulling away.

“Yeah,” Monika said, nodding. “We should… go find Zoya and Minh.”

Adriane nodded, leading the way as Monika wrapped the towel around herself. The steamy hot spring air greeted her almost the second she opened the door, and contrary to her fears, nobody stared at her in an untoward manner. Not a single person seemed to look at her as if she was _wrong,_ like she was some sort of intruder masquerading to get forbidden access.

But it was just like Adriane said – Monika was as much of a woman as anyone here. Slowly, Monika’s anxiety began to drift away, taking off her towel alongside Adriane as they stepped into the hot spring together, the warm water immediately washing over her as she went in. Benches were built under the water, and as Monika lowered herself to sit on it, the water rose up to cover nearly every part of her, stopping just below her neck. _God,_ she could sit in this water forever. She sighed, finding herself incredibly relaxed and _comfortable,_ for the first time in a long, _long_ while. It was like stepping into the pool had let her tap into some sort of majestic healing property, making Monika so comfortable with the world she scarcely cared anymore who – or what – anyone saw her as. At this point, she could feel her muscles relaxing, taking in every part of the hot spring and washing over her like the deepest massage in the world.

Time soon lost meaning as a tangible concept as Monika soaked in the hot spring, occasionally shifting herself to make sure every possible inch of her had gotten at least _some_ of the magical water. This _definitely_ lived up to the boasting from the Circhester locals. Eventually though, her time in here had to come to an end, and she moved with Minh, Zoya and Adriane to an actual massage, and by the time they had gotten back to the locker room to put their clothes back on, Monika felt as if she had turned into a liquid.

“We need to come back here,” Minh said. “This was _so_ worth the money.”

“Mhm,” Monika said. Honestly, it felt _strange_ to put clothes back on again. But, the challenge wouldn’t wait, and she needed to register soon anyway. “Can you guys get us into the hotel? I’m going to register for my match.”

Zoya nodded, already snatching up Monika’s ruck to take it to the hotel. “Sure thing. I’ll let you know what room we’re in.”

Monika nodded, heading out the door to the chilly Circhester air. After being in the hot spring, it felt like the most refreshing thing in the world. The Circhester stadium stood at the apex of the town, where the hills merged into the mountain, making the stadium seem more like a fortress that watched over Circhester more than anything else. She checked her watch – nearly 3. Who knows how many people had registered by now.

“Oi, Monika!”

Monika turned to see Marnie, a heavy black wool coat covering her usual attire as she ran over to her, tugging at her loose bag. She smiled, nodding. “Hello, Marnie. I didn’t know you were coming here.”

Marnie smirked, shrugging her shoulders. Her breath appeared and disappeared just as fast, each huff of breath like a wisp from a fairy tale dragon. “Well, I wanted to train up a bit before I went to Ballonlea, ya know? Opal’s got a big advantage on me.”

“Oh yeah, right!” Monika said. She wondered how Marnie intended to break down Opal’s type strength against her team. “So, you’re going to take on Melony with me, then? That’ll be fun!”

“Only if they got the spots for us both same day, but don’t think I won’t be watching you anyway!” She wagged an accusatory finger at Monika, a cheery smirk still on her face.

Monika laughed, jerking her head to the stadium. There were bound to be dozens of people signing up. “Well, we better go before someone takes all the slots, right? And I’ll be watching you too!”

“I heard you beat Kabu,” Marnie said as they got closer. “Well, saw it, actually. Where’d you get that Kingler from?”

“Oh, I caught Anatoli in Germany,” Monika said. “I think it was near Hamburg? I don’t remember.”

Marnie nodded, tugging again at her coat as they headed up the slopes. The stadium seemed even larger the closer they got to it, overpowering all the houses and shops in the immediate area. “I’ve never been to Germany. Well, never been anywhere outside Spikemuth, really. This is kinda my big adventure, ya know?”

“Really?” Monika asked. “I thought you’d have been everywhere in Galar, being born here and all.”

“Eh, I mean, not really. I just liked being at Spikemuth, ya know?”

Monika nodded. Made sense. There was definitely a part of her that wished she could go back to her house, sit in the familiar rooms she always knew. But, if she was doing that, then she couldn’t be here, taking on the Galar league. “Yeah, I can get that,” Monika said. “Hey, so, good luck against Melony, okay?”

“Yeah,” Marnie said, nodding sharply as they joined the line. “Good luck to you, too! Oh, hey, let me get your number, actually. If you go to Ballonlea next, I wanna battle you before I go up against Opal.”

Monika blinked, before shrugging and pulling out her phone. “Uh, okay.” She and Marnie exchanged numbers, with a quick text to confirm the numbers were real and one of them wasn’t catfishing the other, for some absurd reason. Seemingly satisfied, Marnie thanked Monika and faced straight forward in the line, quickly overwhelmed by others as they pushed and shoved to either buy tickets or register for the upcoming matches. Somehow, Monika felt like someone was watching her. No, watching her and _Marnie._ Maybe she was just being paranoid. It was just chance, right? That she and Marnie kept showing up to the same towns, challenging the same leaders in order?

Yeah, just chance.


	12. Queen of the Winter Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika challenges Melony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flampivian: Darmanitan  
> Mottineva: Frosmoth  
> Skelabra: Chandelure

Monika started to feel like she had figured everything out. Watching Tuesday’s matches showed Melony as a serious and unflappable battler, utilizing hailstorms and highly mobile tactics, rarely letting challengers with more physical-minded Pokemon get close to her own. Her Lapras was the key to her defensive strategies, Monika soon found out, and with that in mind her other Pokemon emerged as a means to support it. Monika noted that Melony’s Flampivian and Mottineva were primarily used to beat down opposing Pokemon that tried to set up Monika’s usual tricks, like spikes and other such traps. No doubt her usual tactic of slowing other Pokemon down with twisted dimensions would be punished severely.

And yet, Monika believed she had a full type advantage on Melony. If only she could close the speed gap, though… that’d make things a lot easier. None of her Pokemon were particularly all-stars in the speed department, which is why she relied on trick rooms in the first place. Her Ninjask, Freya, had the sort of speed needed to outpace Melony’s Pokemon, but Monika knew that Freya wouldn’t last long. Maybe she should just bring her own Vulnona over? Kabu had done great things with his, so why shouldn’t Monika replicate his style? Lev could easily outpace Melony’s team, but he didn’t know the right sort of moves to seriously impact Melony’s team or her method of battling.

Then again, maybe she didn’t _have_ to try and negate Melony’s speed. Maybe what she should be focusing on was how to leverage her Pokemon’s own defensive strengths and fight a war of attrition. Melony’s Pokemon were strong, but they were glass cannons, stereotyping of ice type Pokemon aside. Maybe if she stocked her team up with defensively-minded Pokemon, like Mr. Good, Innokentiy, Hans, her newly-obtained Legios Montagne, and bring utility just in case with her Skelabra and Vulnona, she could just wear Melony’s Pokemon down.

She pitched ideas to Minh and Zoya, with both of them providing valued input. Zoya suggested leading with Montagne first, and swapping out her Vulnona for Lev for when Melony’s Lapras showed up. The one advantage with Melony was that she never once switched up her team – Minh had elected to research all of Melony’s previous battles and found the trend among them. Ideas on how to avoid being beaten down with hail still remained elusive, though. Without removing that, it’d be difficult for Monika to effectively hold to her strategy, since her Pokemon would be continuously pelted by the hail while Melony’s team remained relatively safe and sound.

The solution came when she was training with Hans and Mr. Good the day before her match. She realized they both knew how to intensify the sun’s rays, clearing the sky even through dark clouds of near-impenetrable hail. The Circhester Stadium was one of the Galar League’s two open-air stadiums, the other being the massive championship arena in Wyndon. If Melony wanted to keep up the hail, well then she would just have to deal with Monika’s Pokemon taking that hail away every so often.

Ironically, she sat here in the locker room unsure that she’d actually be able to win this. This was a strategy she couldn’t exactly test – Minh’s Frosdedje was a great Pokemon, but it couldn’t possibly represent Melony’s entire team. And besides, it wasn’t like there were a lot of other ice trainers around that could provide a challenge for her. Honestly, it was a shock that Melony had even ranked as high as she did – ice type trainers in general were rare to see. Zoya rubbed Monika’s shoulders, standing behind her and giving sidelong glances to the other trainers in the locker room. Not a lot of people this week – just her, Marnie and someone she didn’t know. It looked like Kabu really _did_ weed out a lot of trainers.

“You’ll be fine,” Zoya reminded her. “You’ve got the advantage here. Just remember that.”

“I’m still worried about the speed,” Monika said. “What if she picks up on my strategy?”

“Then get your Skelabra out. Melt those fuckers before they can even get close. Not a lot of her Pokemon can touch a ghost type.”

Monika sighed, letting her shoulders relax. Warmups had already ended – the stadium was perpetually chilled per not just Melony’s wishes, but due to the open air nature of it. The chilly mountain air made it nearly impossible, not to mention economically unsound, to heat it up. It wasn’t unusual for a lot of attendees to wear heavy coats for the event. Graciously, the Galar officials allowed challengers to modify their uniforms with warm leggings, long-sleeved shirts, actual pants, or just a heavy coat, with a special vest that had their name and number on the back for them to wear. Monika had opted today to wear a pea coat and warm leggings, preferring having the deluge of pockets over anything else.

Looked like Marnie had the same idea. Her same coat from the other day was wrapped around her, black jeans replacing her league-sanctioned shorts. She seemed like she was almost… _meditating._ Was that a tune Monika heard coming from her mouth, or was it some sort of mantra? She probably would never find out – whatever Marnie did to get ready before a match would no doubt be over by the time Monika came back. Meanwhile, the sole guy in the locker room only wore a long-sleeve white shirt and jeans, writing something in a small notebook as he waited. Monika looked away from them to check the time – her match was coming up soon. All they were waiting on was for Melony to be ready and to set up for her appearance.

A league official informed her it was time. Nodding, Monika stood up, heading out for the turf with Zoya right behind her. Almost the second she left the gate, an overwhelming roar filled the stadium. She glanced up at the screens – the cameras were focused on _her_ , showing her league number and name as she walked out. Why were they cheering for her? That didn’t seem right.

“Excuse me,” she said, tapping the league official on the shoulder as she switched to English. “Why are they cheering? Melony’s not out yet.”

He paused, blinking before laughing and giving her a smile. “Well, they’re cheering for you, obviously! You’re getting a lot of fame, Challenger Monika!”

Monika furrowed her brow, before turning to Zoya. It didn’t look like she had heard, but then again how _anyone_ could hear anything over the electronic music that was playing astounded her. Whatever, she’d have to talk to Zoya about this later.

Either way, Melony’s appearance was about to start. The announced told the stadium to give a round of applause for Circhester’s own Melony, descending from a special gate that was heralded by an ice staircase. She descended down in a cloud of mist, daintily waving to her audience as she approached the turf. Sounds meant to replicate a chilly wind played over the loudspeakers, with a long cheer from the crowd as the announcer proclaimed the start to today’s matches.

Melony and Monika approached one another, meeting in the middle of the pitch with sharp nods and all the excitement and anxiety that came with facing another opponent. “You’ve come a long way,” Melony said, smiling with a certain mischievous look in her eye. “I’m afraid I’ll have to freeze your ambitions here, if you’ll pardon the pun.”

“You can try,” Monika said, smirking. “Kabu stopped me once, but I came back stronger. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Ooh, I _like_ your fire,” Melony replied. “Let’s get this show on the road then, shall we?”

Melony’s theme music continued to blare as they broke off from the center, taking their positions across from one another. Like she predicted, Melony sent out her Mottineva first, and Monika led with Montagne just like she had practiced. The league officials stretched and warmed themselves up in tune with the music reaching its apex, a signal for it to start fading out as the countdown began to end.

“Montagne!” Monika ordered as the airhorn blew, signaling the start of the match. “Flank attack!”

Melony’s Mottineva started to buzz and take evasive action, summoning a hailstorm over the stadium. It didn’t much matter to her – Montagne was already forming up and initiating an attack. Mottineva had a height advantage, what being able to fly above Montagne, but it risked being swarmed by all of the troopers if it came down for an attack. Montagne had already started forming itself into a square, calling out incomprehensible cadences as it tracked Mottineva, waiting for it to bring itself down so it could strike. Right on schedule – Monika watched Mottineva swoop down, flash-freezing bits of ice and practically dive-bombing Montagne, which was responded to in kind by two troopers jumping on Mottineva’s back, forcing it to the ground. Immediately, the rest of the troop and the brass leader charged in, a rallying cry emerging from the brass as they began to attack. Hilariously enough, the same manufactured sounds of swords and shields clashing erupted from Montagne as it battered Mottineva.

Little could be done as Mottineva sustained the beatdown – after all, it couldn’t effectively fly away with two troopers on its back, and each blow that Montagne landed was clearly inflicting a lot of damage. Eventually, Mottineva apparently got tired of taking the assault and threw the troopers of its back, a red aura emanating from it as it shoved them off. Mottineva rose up, buzzing as it began a series of evasive attacks that Montagne couldn’t hope to dodge, attempting to reform into the square to keep itself defended. A particularly brave trooper latched on, bashing Mottineva with its shield to the rejoicing cheers of its fellow comrades, which forced Mottineva to spin in midair to throw it off again.

“Montagne!” Monika yelled, watching it reform into a straight line to face down Mottineva. “Attack Pattern One!”

Montagne paused as the brass began a new cadence – this apparently signaled the beginning of the next attack. The troopers began making noises not at all dissimilar to an artillery crew preparing a gun to fire, complete with “clearing” an invisible breech that came with a “shell” clattering across the ground. The brass stood behind its troopers, each one moving their shields as if it was adjusting elevation and traverse to track Mottineva in the air, before the “loader” shoved a shot into the invisible gun. A blue ball of energy began to form as the fourth trooper, apparently the gunner, waddled off to prepare to fire. The others knelt down, closing their eyes and covering their “ears” with their shields. The brass called out a command, and on cue the gunner fired, sending the blue ball of energy flying right at Mottineva, causing a repeat of the entire procedure as Montagne prepared another shot to much fanfare from the troopers.

A whistle blow came in. Monika ordered Montagne to pause, which it followed without question. Melony’s Mottineva was unable to battle further, causing her to send out Flampivian. Another blow, and the fight was back on. Montagne wasted no time in firing another shot of energy at Melony’s Flampivian, but this caused it to enter a rage as it transformed into a snowman with an evil grin. Blue energy surrounded its head, and the Flampivian rose up to attack Montagne, flying at it head-first. It headbutted Montagne with a burst of psychic energy, causing the formation to scatter all about as it took the brunt of the impact. Almost immediately, Montagne reformed, facing off with Flampivian again as it decided to go with a more direct route with answering the previous attack. The troopers, egged on by the brass, charged for Flampivian and began assaulting it with all manner of attacks from kicks to simple shield bashes, assailing it as it began to conjure fire to try to keep Montagne at bay. Monika decided to just cut out the middleman and order a switchup, causing Montagne to increase the assault’s intensity that forced Flampivian to drop out. Melony’s Kubuin fared little better, falling almost the second it came out, but the appearance of Melony’s Lapras caused Monika to call a timeout to swap Lev in. Montagne could use the break anyway.

As it turned out, needing Hans or Mr. Good to utilize the power of changing the weather was ultimately unnecessary. Lev scored a hit of a lifetime almost the second he and Lapras switched in, with subsequent zapping attacks forcing an early end to Melony’s attempts to stop Monika from progressing further. A final airhorn signaled the end of Monika’s match, with Melony returning her beaten Lapras to its Pokeball. She had a smirk on her face as she approached Monika, nodding almost the entire way.

“You know,” Melony said, handing Monika the Ice Badge, “I’m starting to see why Kabu endorsed you.”

Monika nodded, smiling back. “You’re not the first to say that.”

“I don’t think I’ll be the last,” she replied.

The announcer called out Monika’s victory, affirming that she had obtained her fourth badge and was well on her way to reaching the top 12 among the challengers. The crowd cheered, even if Melony had lost, which only grew in intensity as Monika began to head out the gate to return to the locker room with Zoya right behind her.

“Want to head back to the hotel room?” Zoya asked as they finally escaped the noise.

She was about to answer, when Marnie passed by them, a stoic look on her face as she prepared to face off against Melony. “Actually… you go ahead, I’m going to watch Marnie battle from in here.”

“You’re… you sure?” Zoya asked. She paused, waiting for Monika to nod and confirm it before shrugging her shoulders. “Alright then, let me know when you’re on your way back, okay?”


	13. Arms Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika heads to Stow-on-Side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Resladero: Hawlucha  
> Pandagro: Pangoro  
> Kaocto: Grapploct  
> Machomei: Machamp

Watching Marnie battle was almost like watching a master painter at work. Monika watched as Marnie took the ice gym leader’s team apart with brutal efficiency, utilizing her Pokemon’s speed and underhanded attacks to gain the edge over Melony’s quick and rapid assaults. It scarcely took Marnie long to even knock out most of Melony’s Pokemon, with only the Flampivian providing a challenge to her. The more Monika watched Marnie, the more she realized that she wasn’t _just_ a dark type trainer. Marnie had a skill to her that, thus far, she hadn’t seen out of _anyone._ Marnie managed to look like she was always six moves ahead of her opponent.

So if that was true, how come Monika had so easily beaten her back at Motostoke?

It puzzled her, primarily because she couldn’t figure out what motive, if there was one, could drive that inherent disconnect. If Marnie could decimate Kabu and Melony without issue, then how could Monika beat her? It wasn’t the type advantage – Monika didn’t have any fighting-type Pokemon on her team regularly until she caught Montagne. Glaz, Mr. Good and Innokentiy were all _weak_ to Marnie’s Pokemon, and the poison offered by her Toxiquak definitely gave Hans a nasty surprise.

So where the fuck was this genius coming from?

It puzzled her even as she headed back to the hotel, reviewing every weekly article that the League’s writers produced. Going back, the power rankings didn’t even consider Marnie until week 2, after she had taken down Nessa without an issue, but the writers didn’t seem to consider strategic genius behind her strength. Their rankings were more concerned with a nebulous rating of strength based off of individual Pokemon performance combined with what was apparently either author bias or just straight track record. It _did_ explain why Monika never broke out of the top 16 prior to beating Kabu, but it didn’t explain why they consistently underrated Marnie.

Maybe she was just losing her mind. It wouldn’t be the first time Monika had overthought about something like this. She sighed, about to put her phone away when a notification crossed her screen. The Galar League’s writers had created another article following Week 5 of league play. Curiosity overwhelmed her. May as well see what this was all about, right?

* * *

Week 5 has come to an end, Pokemon Fans, and this means another week of match reviews and predictions for Week 6! The herd has significantly thinned, and not just because of the growing skill and strength of the gym leaders. Kabu recorded ten straight wins in Week 4, knocking out a second round of challengers and ending the dreams of even more as his record continues to put him at the top. This week, Melony and Bea both find themselves on the receiving end of consecutive losses while Opal’s rare challengers find modest success. Raihan and Piers remain unchallenged this season, though we anticipate that a handful of our Top 8 challengers will make their way to Spikemuth and Hammerlocke to tackle the top-ranked leaders of the Galar region.

This week, the Top 8 has changed significantly. Reynold falls to number four this week after a disastrous loss to Bea. Logan rises to number 6 after challenging Opal and winning on Tuesday, while Marnie breaks out of the tie position to hit the third place spot. Nicholas falls out of the top 8 entirely to be replaced by Monika. Here are our power rankings for this week:

  1. **Alexander** – Utilizing his Rapidash and Alcremie to great effect, Alexander maintains an even-headed style that seems to have few counters. This week’s win against Bea confirms his place at the top, with the battle in Stow-on-Side taking only 10 minutes, an unfortunate record in stadium history. With a Clefable that seemed almost impossible to stop, Alexander is well on his way to securing a win in Ballonlea next, with another win in Spikemuth almost certain.

  2. **Mark** – Interestingly enough, Mark’s rare Alolan Meowth did not make an appearance against Opal this week, perhaps due in part to its weakness against Opal’s team. Bisharp continued to impress this week, clearing house in Ballonlea with relative ease as Mark continues to adhere to his all-out, highly aggressive form of battling. Concerns have been raising about his team heading into Stow-on-Side this week, if the interview he gave following the win in Ballonlea is to be believed.

  3. **Marnie** – Marnie gave an excellent show in Circhester against Melony, proving that her Pokemon aren’t just one-trick Ponytas. Melony’s Darmanitan did give Marnie a level of consternation, though, which does beg the question of whether or not Marnie can effectively cope with Pokemon that have sufficiently strong willpower and the defense to go with it. Rumors claim she’s heading to Ballonlea next. Is she planning to take on Opal before heading to Bea, or is this a ruse? Only time will tell!

  4. **Reynold** – A disappointing loss to Bea kills Reynold’s luck this week, as his ice Pokemon sustained little and shattered against Bea’s blazing infernos and lightning-quick attacks. Reynold’s Abomasnow, previously an all-star, proved to be out of its element as Bea’s Pokemon thawed it out with a flurry of elemental attacks. He has a second chance this week, but is it going to be enough?

  5. **Hop** – This week, Hop continues to defy expectations, with his mixed team providing the best possible solution against Bea. Hop’s Trevenant decimates Bea’s team and proved a serious challenge for Bea to handle, leading to another week of winning as he proclaims a move on to Spikemuth. Pure strength only gets a Trainer so far, though, and his team does have severe weaknesses that force us to put him at number 5 this week.

  6. **Logan** – A surprise win against Opal puts Logan solidly in number 6, though just barely. His Vespiquen certainly gave Opal a run for her money, though doubts remain as to whether Logan can continue this trend as he goes against Melony next week in Circhester. Tricks and slight of hand are his go-to strategies, and Melony’s team may not be so easily fooled.

  7. **Bede** – Just barely hanging on, Bede struggled at Ballonlea against Opal, despite winning against Bea in Week 4. Circhester’s Melony may provide relief for the beleaguered psychic-type trainer, but doubts exist whether Bede will be able to hold his own come Spikemuth. His lack of success against equivalent trainers also throws doubt into the seriousness of his continued challenge, despite the Chairman’s backing. Did the Chairman make a mistake?

  8. **Monika** – Her first time appearing in the Top 8 as more than a footnote, Monika has shown impressive flexibility in her battles. A stupendous win against Melony following a revenge-fueled showdown with Kabu proved that the German military veteran has much more up her sleeve than trick rooms and delaying actions. However, will this victory extend to Stow-on-Side and Ballonlea? Time will tell, and there are serious doubts among analysts considering the shocking loss to Kabu, her sponsor.




* * *

Monika blinked, and before she knew it, the road to Stow-on-Side was finishing just ahead of them, a dusty road leading up to an equally dusty town. Despite being a major city, the approaches were lonely, with massive rocks and stone structures on either side of the road, and each building they passed had a perpetual layer of reddish-brown colored dust that, once again, brought Monika back to Afghanistan. Her boots, once clean and polished, had now been dulled by the road, with tiny rocks covering every nook and cranny in her soles. It was far warmer here than in Circhester – granted, that was primarily due to the fact it wasn’t stuck in a near-frozen tundra mountainous area – and thus Monika had elected to take off her jacket, packing it up in her ruck for the time being.

It was sort of a shame that Route 6 didn’t offer any Pokemon that Monika felt like catching – most of them were Pokemon she already had covered by some of her existing Pokemon, or simply didn’t fit into her strategy. She blinked, holding a hand above her head and shielding her eyes from the harsh sunlight as Stow-on-Side’s stadium came into view. It stood at the top of a grand staircase, just next to the historical ancient mural. Shops dominated the alleys and roads, with constant bartering and negotiating occurring no matter where they went. In fact, the local hotel staff seemed surprised when Monika and her friends fully accepted the price they had been given for their room.

No time to negotiate, though. Watching Marnie battle Melony and knowing that she was heading to Ballonlea next had Monika thinking. Marnie had said she wanted to train before going up against Opal. Naturally, that meant because Opal’s team – primarily fairy types – were strong against Marnie’s Pokemon. So, if she wanted to tackle weaker opponents, what sort of advantage did she have over Bea that caused her to go here, and then go to Melony? Was she just using her Morpeko’s speed and psychic attacks to overwhelm Bea’s team? And if that was the case, then what was Marnie’s plan against Opal, or against Monika?

Obviously, she knew Marnie had a type advantage over her. Monika’s own propensity for psychic types meant the vast majority of Marnie’s dark-type Pokemon could easily land super-effective hits in. But that couldn’t sustain her – Monika had plenty of Pokemon to counter Marnie’s as well. Her Toxiquak was weak to a good number of her team’s usual suspects. She could sidestep the typing issue altogether by just changing up her team. And as if that wasn’t damning enough, Montagne added a new factor for Marnie to consider.

Which, of course, brought her back to wondering how Opal would be taken down. Perhaps her Toxiquak would carry it for her. Her Irokex could definitely use some of the tricks up its sleeve. Conversely, then, Opal had to have answers to this.

“You don’t even have half these Pokemon,” Minh said, having suddenly appeared over Monika’s shoulder.

She blinked, staring down at her notebook which did indeed have at least a dozen Pokemon that Monika had not caught, and had zero intention of training. “Y-yeah,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I don’t know, seeing Marnie battle Melony got me thinking. She’s likely to be part of the finals if we keep pacing our progress like this. I need to figure out how to counter her _now_ rather than later.”

“You shouldn’t worry about it too much, though,” Zoya said. “I heard what Kabu said – focus on the battle right in front of you, rather than the one down the road.”

“Right, I am,” Monika said, nodding. “With Mr. Good, Innokentiy, Glaz, and Kaid, that should be more than enough to tackle Bea’s team. Anything else is unnecessary, I think.

“Trick rooms again?” Minh asked. “I read the league’s article. People are catching on to that strategy.”

“No, not this time. Though, actually… I can get Elisa – my Ninjask – in and lead with her. Shock Bea’s team with speed.”

“Be ready for anything,” Adriane said. “I did some reading – she has a handful of Pokemon she prefers, and you shouldn’t rely on just one Pokemon to handle them.”

Monika nodded, flipping her notebook back a page. “Right. Her Resladero bucks the trend. I have a strategy, don’t worry.”

She turned back to her notebook, staring at known elements of Bea’s team. Kabu had informed her that she had a highly aggressive fighting style, almost reckless in its implementation since her Pokemon favored grappling with the other Pokemon and wrestling with them rather than relying on any other sort of formal technique. She had to watch out for Bea’s Resladero, Pandagro and Kaocto, with secondary threats from her Machomei. If Bea sent out her Resladero out first, as she had in previous battles that Monika knew of, then she might have to lead with Lev. But that was risky – Lev didn’t exactly have anything that could reliably knock out anything but Bea’s Resladero quickly, and nearly every other Pokemon Bea had up her sleeve could counter Lev.

She sighed, tapping her pen against her leg. Monika began to think opening with Elisa was her best move. Either she could knock apart most of Bea’s team, or she could delay her and frustrate Bea’s Pokemon by having Elisa keep out of reach, assaulting them with aerial attacks that they couldn’t effectively respond to. If one of them did manage to land an ice or thunder-infused punch, then she had to resort to bringing out Kaid and Mr. Good. Anything else was inadvisable at best, and the lack of fire-based attacks hurt Bea more than helped her. If somehow Bea managed to bring them down, Glaz and Innokentiy both were ready and waiting.

Another run of speculative scenarios passed through Monika’s head, all manner of ideas and plausible outcomes, but all she could see was winning. When the league articles came out next week, she was confident they’d be talking about how she took on Bea and won handily. All she had to figure out next was how to tackle Marnie, Hop and maybe even Bede.


	14. Pocket Defense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika challenges Bea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lauchzelot: Sirfetch'd

There were no t-shirt throws or wild feats of acrobatics in Stow-on-Side’s stadium. Bea approached each battle with the same stoic, indifferent attitude that everyone claimed drove her training, approaching the rocky turf with hard-set grim eyes, and a frown permanently affixed to her face. Monika and Bea faced each other across the field, with no pleasantries exchanged. They both knew what this was – a pure, bareknuckles brawl, with their Pokemon taking their place and fighting for them. Monika expected Bea would not hold back, and she anticipated Bea already had done some research of her own into Monika.

It was just another step, Monika rationalized, breathing deeply as the league officials prepared themselves to judge another round of Pokemon battles. One more gym, one more leader, just a minor roadbump to tackling Piers, Raihan and eventually getting into the finals to challenge Leon. She could see it now. All Monika had to do was dismantle Bea’s team, and then she could move on. Yet, she moderated herself – she knew how this sort of hubris could be her downfall before. She had to be wary of letting her own success go to her head.

Bea started the battle off with her Resladero. Unsurprising – Monika elected to open like she had planned, sending Elisa out. Monika scarcely even recognized the whistles blowing or music dying down anymore – she just waited for Resladero to start moving before calling out a typical attack pattern for Elisa. Ducking and weaving, Elisa began to conjure spheres of white energy, sending them to Resladero and pelting it left and right. Resladero replied by closing a fist, charging with electricity as it tried to close the distance with Elisa. Just like in training, Elisa ducked out of the way and avoided subsequent blows with rapid dodges and replying with razor-sharp attacks that Resladero couldn’t respond to in time.

However, Resladero cut out this pointless mid-air dodging, preferring instead to leap at Elisa and bring her to the ground. Too easy – Elisa was prepared for this sort of tactic and wriggled her way out, flying circles to avoid being tackled again as she conjured more stones of energy to pelt Resladero down. It being on the ground, and not flying in the air, just made it an even easier target. Monika scarcely needed to give the order – Elisa was already swooping down, beating on Resladero before it could react and get itself together. The whistles came in following a round of attacks, confirming Bea’s Resladero was out. Monika rolled her shoulders back, preparing for the next part.

Bea sent out her Kaocto next. The purple-colored Pokemon immediately locked eyes with Elisa as it came out, its tentacles stretching and contracting as if it was working out fists in preparation to fight. With another whistle, Monika ordered Elisa to begin a new attack pattern. She replied without a problem, dodging Kaocto’s attempts t lock it into a brawl by staying light and mobile. Monika couldn’t help herself – she started pacing back and forth, watching from every angle she could get to see if there was a better way to take this down.

Unexpectedly, Kaocto snatched onto Elisa’s arm, slamming her to the ground with such force Monika immediately cringed. Kaocto began punching Elisa repeatedly, so fast she could barely even move out of the way despite her speed. Should she call a timeout, switch to one of her other Pokemon before she took too many hits? She blinked but in that short span Elisa had already wrestled herself free of Bea’s Kaocto and took to the air once more, cutting the air so sharply it forced Kaocto to break off and retreat for a moment.

Better to swap now than be forced to, Monika decided, calling a timeout. Time to bring out Mr. Good – if Bea’s Pokemon had the sorts of moves ready that she thought they had, better to have him out since he could levitate and avoid them to begin with. That, and Kaocto couldn’t easily get a hold on Mr. Good, and that took out most of Bea’s ideas.

“Mr. Good, Attack Pattern Six!” Monika called. Mr. Good immediately began to engage Bea’s Kaocto with psychic attacks, disorienting it as it tried to fight back. Beams of psychic energy zipped out, slamming into Kaocto and tossing it around almost like a marionette. Just like that, another one of Bea’s Pokemon fell. Time to face down her Pandagro.

It emerged with a roar, its long cape-like fur billowing behind it as it adjusted the thin-stemmed shoot in its mouth, eyeing Mr. Good with a critical look. Alright, this was less than ideal. Time to figure something out, and _quick._ Pandagro set off the second the whistle blew, attacking with a flurry of open-palmed punches. It didn’t do much good – Mr. Good wasn’t affected by it that much, but this did present a problem. If she tried to set up a trick room, that threw most of her strategy out and prevented her from being able to utilize one of Mr. Good’s best attacks. Unless… _there we go._

“Mr. Good, Attack Pattern Two!” Mr. Good began to spin, gyrating around an invisible point as Pandagro tried to find a way to either stop him or land a punch solid enough to knock him out to little avail. Once enough speed had been generated, Mr. Good slammed into Pandagro, knocking it back and across the turf, which it quickly recovered from. Just as Pandagro began to get up, Mr. Good followed up on this attack by aligning his bottom to Pandagro, gathering silver energy and firing it out with a brilliant flash of light. Undeterred, Pandagro charged forward, grabbing Mr. Good’s bottom and hurling him as far as possible.

_Fuck,_ Monika though. That combo should have finished it for good. What the fuck was happening? Mr. Good wasted no time getting back in the fight, opting to just outright slam into Pandagro from above, much to the crowd’s displeasure, if the collective gasp from them was anything to go off of. Referees moved to make a judgment, but Pandagro roared at it got up once more, ready to take more hits like it was nothing. No choice. She had to fight fire with fire here, or in this case, reflect fire back to itself. She called another timeout, sighing as Mr. Good and Zoya headed over to her.

“So, what’s the move?” Zoya asked, watching as Mr. Good went back into his Pokeball.

“Innokentiy’s time,” Monika answered. “None of my Pokemon can take this thing on right now, and Elisa’s too hurt for me to risk sending her out. I have to bounce everything back onto this Pandagro.”

Zoya nodded. “Sounds like a plan. You got this.”

The timeout ended as Monika sent Innokentiy out, saluting like he always did. She didn’t need to tell him what to do – fight back, and stymie Bea’s attempts to knock Monika out of the running. Innokentiy began to glow as Pandagro started to throw punches, knocking it back and doing more damage to itself than it could dish to Innokentiy. In its own rage, it ignored Bea’s orders to do something different, effectively knocking itself out in short order. No time to waste – Bea’s Lauchzelot was up next after Pandagro was declared unfit for further battling.

Lauchzelot emerged standing proudly, with its leek much taller than it was as it banged its leaf shield on the ground. If Monika didn’t know any better, she’d say that Lauchzelot was sizing Innokentiy up, looking up at him with a critical eye and an air of superiority. As the whistles came in, Monika called out a standard defense pattern. No need to get fancy – after all, Innokentiy knew how to take down most any other attacker. Bea’s Lauchzelot did not move, and for a few moments neither did Innokentiy, both Pokemon waiting for the other to make a move. Eventually, Lauchzelot charged forward, swinging with its massive leek. As Monika expected, Innokentiy replied in kind with a shimmering coat, expecting to reflect a physical attack. However, at the last second Bea’s Lauchzelot conjured a beam of light, which broke through Innokentiy’s defenses.

_Wait._ That shouldn’t be possible, right? Innokentiy looked as surprised as Monika felt, tumbling backwards and reorienting himself just in time for Bea’s Lauchzelot to come in for a series of assaults. The barrage of blows and strikes that Lauchzelot inflicted on Innokentiy seemed almost cruel, giving him no time to react to the blows. Despite usually resisting these sorts of attacks, Innokentiy was steadily being worn down by this relentless assault, and before long, the whistles blew as the referees pulled Innokentiy out.

Zoya was by Monika’s side immediately, turning Monika to face her as she returned Innokentiy to his Pokeball. “You alright?” Zoya asked, straining to make herself heard over the noise. Bea’s cheer team was deafeningly loud, almost like they had trained to overwhelm every possible noise in the stadium.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Monika said, sighing. “Fucking caught us off-guard. Glaz can handle this overzealous little knight.”

Zoya nodded, grabbing Monika’s shoulder and giving it a reassuring shake. “You’ve got this. She’s only got this thing and her Machomei left.”

“I’ll get rid of them no problem,” Monika said. She prepared Glaz’s Pokeball, watching Zoya run off as the referees signaled the end of her timeout. Bea stood across from her with her arms folded, staring at Monika with a gaze that was so piercing that, for a second, she believed Bea could look into her eyes and understand every facet of Monika’s strategy.

She let out a huff of air as Glaz came out with a roar, eager for a fight and staring down Lauchzelot with an evil look. “Glaz, Attack Pattern Two,” Monika called, watching Glaz already preparing to take revenge for Innokentiy. Lauchzelot tried to attack with its usual thrusts and parries, but found no results as Glaz replied by conjuring will-o-the-wisps and burning his foe severely, his eye glowing as an invisible force knocked Lauchzelot around. Almost too easy – Lauchzelot took the hit like a champ, standing back up defiant as ever as Glaz’s eye glowed once more. This time, instead of attacking Lauchzelot, Glaz had set up a future attack. Either this future attack would hit Lauchzelot when it least expected it, or it would hit Bea’s Machomei when it arrived on stage. Either one worked.

Lauchzelot charged forward, dark energy encircling its leek. Monika recognized this immediately – Lauchzelot intended to do as much damage as possible. “Glaz! Attack Pattern Seven!” Wasting no time, Glaz dodged the attack and began to lift Lauchzelot with psychic energy, slamming it into the ground over and over with brutal force. It didn’t take long for the referees to call Lauchzelot out. Bea sent Machomei out almost as quickly as she put Lauchzelot away, barely even waiting for the referees to call the timeout over before calling out orders.

The uproarious crowd didn’t deter Glaz or Machomei any – in fact it seemed to amp up their energy more than anything else. Glaz stared at Machomei with a glare that seemed to actually unnerve it, giving it pause. Time to end this battle once and for all. Machomei pounded its chest as Glaz began to conjure balls of darkness and shadows, lobbing them at Machomei with a speed and efficiency Monika hadn’t seen in a long time. Bea’s Machomei attempted to respond, fruitlessly grabbing at Glaz but only receiving empty air in response. Each attack that Glaz lobbed at it only served to weaken it further, as it stood and weathered the assaults like a champ.

Eventually, Machomei decided on a new strategy, charging up electrical, ice, and fire energy in three of its fists and leaping at Glaz. The three punches landed within seconds of one another and forcing Glaz to break off, but not before Machomei’s fourth hand could grab Glaz as he became corporeal, slamming him into the ground. This caused a minor crater in the turf as rocks jumped up in response to the brutal blow, and a roar from Glaz that echoed around the arena. He didn’t need orders – revenge filled Glaz’s mind as he began to create a beam of ice, flash-freezing Machomei’s arms. The precise and near-instant freezing stopped Machomei from moving, just in time for a rainbow-colored beam to strike at Machomei from nowhere. Here we go – this was the attack Glaz had set up earlier.

Machomei was flung backwards, struggling to stand up after the ice shattered and freed its limbs. Monika called out for Glaz to finish the fight, which he did with a wave of psychic energy that shocked Machomei. The referees whistled for the final time, calling the battle in Monika’s favor. She couldn’t suppress her grin as she recalled Glaz, listening to the crowd break into reluctant applause and cheering. With a huff, Bea returned her Machomei to its Pokeball, still staring at her with a stoic look on her face. As they approached one another on the turf though, her hardened exterior faded away and Bea allowed herself to smile, handing Monika her reward, the Fighting Badge.

“Thank you for the challenge,” Bea said as her own theme music began to play. “I’ll see you again in the finals.”

“Thank _you,_ ” Monika replied. “I look forward to it.”

Bea smirked, gripping Monika’s hand firmly as she gave her the badge. “We’re not so different, you and I. After this season ends, I’d like to talk to you.”

“Really?” she asked, blinking. This was… odd. “Um… I’ll try to, for sure.”

Together, they turned to face the crowd once more, a sign of celebration for Monika’s success. Only three leaders left, with only six weeks left before finals. No turning back now, and definitely no room for error. Opal, Piers and Raihan stood in front of Monika, and if the rankings were anything to go off of, she was in for a tough time.


	15. Wunderwald

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika and her friends travel through Glimwood Tangle to get to Ballonlea.

Marnie (11:29) – I saw your battle last night! Now I know all your secrets.

Monika (11:30) – You don’t know everything

Marnie (11:34) – Can’t hide everything from me. Next time we battle, that Bronzong’s going down first thing!

Monika (11:40) – My Legios will beat your full team

Marnie (11:42) – What’s a Legios?

Monika (11:43) – Sorry – Falinks

Monika (11:45) – Heading to Ballonlea now

Marnie (11:49) - Good luck! I’m about to challenge Raihan. Well, tomorrow, actually. You should watch me!

Monika (11:56) - I’ll try to

Monika (11:57) – Any tips for Opal or are you going to hide those from me

Marnie (12:01) – I don’t think you really need any tips. With the way you’ve been beating everyone up, I’m sure you’ll do fine against Opal.

Marnie (12:07) – Hey, let me know when you come to Spikemuth. I want to battle you before we take on Piers.

Marnie (12:09) – And no avoiding me this time! After you beat Opal, come RIGHT to Spikemuth or I’ll come find you!

Monika (12:17) – Is that a promise or a threat

Marnie (12:18) – Yes

* * *

Monika chuckled, shaking her head. She shot a quick response to Marnie, indicating that yes, after wrapping it up at Ballonlea she’d head to Spikemuth. Her connection was about to drop anyway – the thick canopy of Glimwood Tangle meant even the most reliable of signals were cut off. Entering this part of the route was bizarre to begin with – little felt like it made sense, and the groups of fairy Pokemon didn’t much alleviate the feelings of time-warping and uneasiness. Monika felt like she had just become Alice in Wonderland, wandering around the tall, thick trees and bioluminescent mushrooms in a daze.

“This place goes on forever,” Minh muttered, warily eyeing Pokemon that got too close for her liking. “And this was the _safe_ route?”

“There’s at least six different paths through here,” Zoya said. “I’m… pretty sure we’re on the right one.”

Monika put her phone away, blinking as she took in the bizarre sights around her. Something about this entire forest was ethereal, almost like she should just decide to pause and take a thousand-year long nap. No doubt this forest generated thousands of myths and legends for the people of Galar. “Hey, if any of you see a Brimova let me know, okay? I want to catch one.”

“Taking notes from Bede, I see,” Adriane said. “I heard he got knocked out this week.”

“No shit?” Monika asked, scanning the ground. She read Brimovas liked to hide in tall grass, gathering mushrooms for nebulous secret potions that nobody was ever sure actually worked or not. “Who beat the hell out of him enough to take two weeks of losses?”

“Piers did,” Minh replied. “He decided to head to Spikemuth after beating Bea. His challenge is over this season.”

Monika nodded, silently impressed. It was a rule she was well-familiar with – two losses and there was almost zero chance of catching up for finals. If the rankings she saw before heading into the woods were right, a _lot_ of the top 8 had run into trouble this week. At least half of them had been thinned out by Opal and Bea, with the rest electing to take on Raihan and Piers with mixed results.

Going deeper and deeper into the Glimwood Tangle, Monika began to feel like the trees were closing in on her. The silent, unnatural movements of Adriane’s Ninjatom, a gift Monika had given her when Elisa evolved, didn’t much help her feel at ease. She smirked as she remembered giving it to her. Adriane had loved ghost Pokemon ever since she got that, and it had sparked an undying – if the pun could be pardoned – love for the type and everything supernatural. This place must have been heaven for her. Spooky, mysterious, and full of mystical beings and legendary tales. All it was really missing was a deluge of ghost Pokemon.

“Hey, you looking for one of those?” Zoya asked, pointing to a nearby Brimova that was quietly gathering mushrooms.

“Ooh, yeah, nice,” Monika said, already preparing Mr. Good. The Brimova didn’t seem to notice them, focused intimately on its task. All the easier – Monika planned to just put it to sleep like she had the Smogmog she caught. She was right about it being easy to catch – within seconds, Mr. Good had put the Brimova to sleep and it was captured with next to no resistance. Number 22 – if the rest of Galar and its Pokemon were anything to go off of, Monika would have a _lot_ more Pokemon when she was done.

The detour over with, they set back to walking the path, trying to trace their way to Ballonlea. The twisting and confusing forest paths didn’t much help, aided even less by Monika’s admittedly terrible map-reading skills. Thankfully, Zoya was much better at tracking their progress and kept them on what they all assumed was the right path, even as the canopy enshrouded them in darkness. It was all Monika could do to keep on the trail, tripping over low-lying branches and holes that Adriane and Minh didn’t call out.

“Just call the fucking holes,” Zoya eventually said after she and Monika both tripped over the same one. “Breaking my neck in Galar isn’t my idea of a good time.”

“Sorry,” Adriane said. “I’m not noticing them, I guess.”

Monika sighed, trying to spot a potential hole up ahead despite the darkness. If Zoya was right, they weren’t too far from Ballonlea now. “It’s alright,” she said. “We’re almost there, I think.”

“Let’s hope,” Minh said. “I’ve had enough of this forest.”

* * *

Ballonlea was about as dark as Glimwood Tangle, less because of the canopy that covered the town but more due to the massive exponential growth it apparently had experienced since the Galar League gained true international attention. Tall apartment buildings dotted the streets mixing with old English townhouses and walk-ups, presenting a jarring contrast between modernity and tradition that seemed to infect every part of the populace.

“I’m going to register for my match,” Monika said. “Let me know what room we get into, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Adriane replied. “If you run into anyone, let _us_ know.”

Monika smirked, nodding. “I heard Hop was on his way here. We’ll just see, I guess.”

The stadium’s bright lights could be seen from nearly every part of the city, shining brightly with a veritable rainbow of colors. The staff were all cheerful and upbeat, as if the struggle of living in near-perpetual darkness never affected them. Either way, Monika’s match against Opal was set, complete with warnings to be prepared for a difficult fight.

On her way back to the hotel, she checked the league standings again. As of Week 7, only a handful of competitors remained. Monika, Hop, Marnie, Logan and Reynold were the only ones left, and if the challenges that Logan and Reynold were facing in tackling Raihan were any indication, the crowd might be even thinner next week. Somehow, Hop had already beaten Raihan – when had that happened? Did she miss it while she was busy preparing against Bea? It was possible.

“Oi, Monika!” Speak of the devil. Hop was right ahead of her, his hands shoved into his pockets and a cocky grin on his face. “You just register?”

“I did,” she said, nodding. “Why?”

Hop’s smile grew even wider, if it was even possible, and he rubbed his hands together. “Awesome! I’m itching to see you fight in person! I keep hearing about it, but it’s gonna be something else to see it live!”

“Wait, so you registered on Friday too?” Monika asked, blinking.

“Yeah! First slot, just to make sure I get to see you battle! I heard Opal’s a right challenge, so this’ll be perfect for both of us!”

She blinked again, trying to figure out what he was aiming for. Was he trying to challenge her to a battle or something? If he was, this was the weirdest way to go about it she had ever faced. “Uh huh,” Monika finally said. “Well, uh, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to my hotel now.”

“Ain’t gotta go yet, right? Got time for a battle before we head our separate ways?”

Monika sighed, ignoring him as she walked away. “Nope. I just spent four hours in the woods. I want to shower.”

“You’re gonna have to go up against me sometime!” Hop called out. “Might as well make it now!”

“Then we’ll face off in the finals!” Monika called back, keeping her sight fixed forward. She didn’t have time to get into a dick-measuring contest with him. If he wanted to take her on so badly, then Hop could wait like everyone else.

* * *

Marnie (17:26) – Hop just texted me. He said you didn’t wanna battle him or something?

Monika (17:29) – He challenged me right after I got to Ballonlea

Monika (17:32) – Didn’t feel like fighting him

Marnie (17:40) – He seems to think you hate him or something.

Monika (17:44) – Not my problem, he can think whatever he wants

Monika (17:45) – He should talk to me himself if he wants a real answer

Marnie (17:50) – Yeah, that what I told him, he ought to text you. I didn’t give him your number tho, wasn’t sure if you were cool with it or not.

Monika (17:54) – Thanks. I don’t really want to talk to him today anyway

Marnie (17:58) – Let me know if he keeps this up, yeah?

Marnie (18:00) – I kinda thought Leon kinda taught him better, but he shouldn’t harass you for a battle. If he does it again I’ll knock him into next week.

Monika (18:03) – My hero

Marnie (18:05) – Do I get a reward if I tell him to sod off? Like a hero’s kiss?

Monika (18:09) – You’ll have to do better than that to earn a kiss

Marnie (18:12) – These kisses better be worth it!

Monika (18:16) – You’ll just have to find out when I get to Spikemuth

Marnie (18:22) – If Hop gets there when you do, I’ll be your bodyguard!

Monika (18:29) – We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it

Monika (18:31) – Getting food, talk to you later

* * *

Monika glanced down at her phone. Marnie had just sent her a late reply, effectively acknowledging she had gotten Monika’s last text. She smirked, sipping on her drink as she shot back a reply. Their food should have been here soon, but when Monika looked up, all she saw was Zoya, Minh and Adriane looking at her, with a variety of looks on their faces.

“What?” she asked, blinking.

“Who were you just texting?” Zoya asked, furrowing her brow as she cocked an eyebrow.

Monika squinted, trying to see if Zoya was being obtuse about something. “Uh… Marnie. Why?”

Zoya glanced over to Minh and Adriane, who stared at each other and then back to Monika. What was going on? Was there something on Monika’s face? She unconsciously worked her tongue over her teeth, trying to get something off as she dabbed at her face, hoping there wasn’t something weird on it.

“What the hell are you doing?” Zoya asked. “Okay, nevermind. Marnie, you’re into her, right?”

Monika blinked, interrupting herself as she stared back, hopelessly lost. “What? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I know you were texting her,” Zoya said. “And you stuck around to watch her battle at Circhester.”

Adriane nodded. “You’re not subtle. To be fair, you do it a lot.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Monika said, feeling her cheeks heat up. They were wrong. She wasn’t doing anything weird, Marnie was a friend and a self-proclaimed rival, after all. She didn’t think anything of her other than that. Zoya, Minh, Adriane… they were just crazy, seeing shit that wasn’t there.

“Slow down, I don’t care,” Zoya said, shaking her head and sighing. “You’re near the end, though. I don’t want you getting distracted because of her, especially if you both end up in the finals.”

“I’m not gonna be _distracted,_ ” Monika shot back. “There’s nothing to be distracted _by._ You guys are talking crazy.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t care either,” Adriane chimed in, sipping on her drink. “You deserve to be happy, Monika.”

“There’s nothing going on between us!” Monika said, perhaps a bit louder than she would have liked. God, she could practically feel herself getting redder with the passing second. “I don’t know why you guys are making such a big deal out of this.”

Minh cocked an eyebrow, resting her chin on her hand. “Oh, _we’re_ making a big deal out of it?”

“Yes you fucking are!” Monika snapped. “Can you guys just drop it? I want to focus on beating Opal, and I can’t do that if you guys are being weird about me and Marnie.”

They looked at one another, short nods exchanged between them before they glanced back at Monika. “Okay, then,” Zoya said, right on cue as their food arrived. “We’ll drop it.”

Even though the food had come – and Monika readily admitted she enjoyed it – the way they had talked made her think, stewing in her own sizzling anger. Who did they think they were?

And yet, she couldn’t help but immediately react when her phone buzzed, the telltale sign that Marnie had texted back. She blinked as she stared at their texts, and realized with horror that a _lot_ of the things they said were much more than just friendly banter. _Did I really tell her she’d get a kiss?_ Who the fuck even was this that possessed her when she texted Marnie? How come her first thought when Zoya accused her of having fallen for Marnie was to text _her,_ and tell her how absurd it was that anyone could think that? How come she felt a soft warmness in her heart every time she thought of Marnie, and wanted to see her smiling face first thing when she got to Spikemuth?

Why couldn’t she get Marnie out of her head?


	16. Panzerkiel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika challenges Opal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Primarene: Primarina  
> Flunkifer: Mawile  
> Pokusan: Alcremie

All eyes were on her. Monika was the only challenger to face Opal today, and that meant the stadium was fully prepared and ready to first watch her highlight video – which she honestly hadn’t even seen – and then observe her battle with Opal. The place was packed, as she expected, filled to the brim with anticipation-filled fans of both sides, at least if the stats the League put out were accurate in the least. For now, she was here in the locker room, trying to control her breathing enough to calm herself before heading out. Zoya sat opposite of her, writing down notes of some kind as the booming music in the stadium just grew ever louder.

“Three minutes,” a league official said, tapping on the door to the room. They must have started to prepare the highlight reels. Maybe about a minute for each, and then a countdown for Opal’s arrival? She didn’t know, and didn’t much feel like speculating. Monika sighed, stretching her fingers out as she stood up, unsure if she was ready to actually face Opal or not. No doubt Marnie was watching from Hammerlocke right now, taking notes and already blowing up her phone with words of encouragement.

“Lead with your Bronzong,” Zoya reminded her as they stepped to the gate. The stadium was dark, and Monika could hear music playing – not Opal’s theme, must have been the one they picked for Monika – which started eerily quiet before kickstarting into a heavy electronic beat. _Not too bad._ She could get behind this as her theme.

_“_ _And now, the German Invader herself, Challenger Monika!”_ The stadium announcer purposefully let the last syllable in her name become long and drawn out, and as she and Zoya headed out to the turf, puffs of smoke accompanied them. The crowd went nuts the second she came in, clapping, cheering and screaming. Whether they supported her or not was sort of up in the air. Monika’s theme music faded out, replaced just as quickly by the opening of Opal’s personal highlight reel, and then her theme. She arrived with a flourish of confetti, mostly pink and purple in color, as her cheer team launched special t-shirts out to the crowd at random and threw stress balls at high-speed into the upper reaches of the stands.

Opal moved slowly to the middle of the field, with only a nod of her head the only indication that she recognized Monika as existing. The music drew to a close, and just like it had five times before, the stadium went quiet as the audience held their breath, waiting to see which Pokemon would come out and battle. Opal’s first offering to the battle was a Smogmog, as expected. Alright, Monika could handle this. Mr. Good was out first as per usual, and if this went as she expected, Monika could follow up with her Vulnona, Nadja, then Lev to finish it off, and if she needed it, Kazimir and Kaid were ready.

Mr. Good remained as stoic as Monika, doing everything she could to keep a level calm as the league officials stood by, waiting to give the signal to start. Monika narrowed her eyes, watching every little movement Opal made as if that’d give a clue to her strategy. She had studied Opal well, reviewing pretty much everything possible, but her plans and methods left Monika wondering. It was almost as if she never settled upon one strategy, and changed it every other week. Therefore, Monika had to rely mostly on brute force. No time to devise anything more in-depth.

The whistle blew. “Mr. Good, Attack Pattern Six!” Monika called. Just like against Bea, Mr. Good began a series of psychic attacks, freezing Opal’s Smogmog in place as it tried to attack and set down hazy smokescreens, only serving to obfuscate itself as it took hits. Except… wait, now he couldn’t see the fucking thing. Can’t attack something you can’t see. She blinked, trying to figure out if this was somehow part of Opal’s plan. Mr. Good paused, trying to track Opal’s Smogmog through the thick black gas that was enveloping its side of the battlefield.

Suddenly, a burst of white-hot fire emerged from the smoke, igniting most of the gas and enveloping Mr. Good in flames. Monika cursed under her breath, helpless to do anything as the all-consuming fire raged for several agonizing seconds. When the smoke cleared and the fire faded out, all Monika could smell was the uncomfortably familiar scent of superheated steel and the odor of burnt gases. Okay, so this thing had gotten a good hit in. No matter. Monika urged Mr. Good to continue the assault, and though there was a certain sluggishness to his attacks, he complied and followed through.

Unexpectedly, Opal’s Smogmog closed the distance, glowing white. Wait, shit. She recognized this. “Mr. Good! Armored defense!” Acting quickly, Mr. Good put up a turquoise sphere, which protected him from the effects of Smogmog’s resulting explosion. Monika lowered the arm she had put in front of herself to shield her eyes from the blast, looking strangely at both Opal and her now fainted Pokemon, which had fallen to the ground. Why sacrifice it? What the hell kind of strategy was this?

Opal wasted no time in switching Pokemon out. A Primarene was next out, surprising Monika. She hadn’t expected this. Alright, well, Mr. Good definitely wasn’t in any shape to keep fighting, not as badly burned as he was. Slight change of plans. _No good plan ever survives contact with the enemy,_ Monika reminded herself as she called a time-out to switch Pokemon. She and Zoya conferred for only a short time, confirming her plan – time to send Lev out.

The crowd cheered when Monika revealed Lev, almost as if they were waiting for her to bring him out. Time to bring this overgrown sea lion down. “Lev, Attack Pattern Four!” Monika called, prompting Lev to immediately start a series of dodges as Opal’s Primarene began singing, no doubt to put Lev to sleep. Lev ignored the song for now, focusing more on sending out shockwaves of electricity to his foe. However, he soon began to tire. This wasn’t right. What the hell was going on?

Eventually, Lev slowed down, practically rolling face-first into the turf and falling asleep. Primarene had been hit by several good jolts, but it hadn’t been knocked out. Now that Lev was asleep, there wasn’t much stopping it. _Fuck,_ Monika thought. She couldn’t swap out again, that’d leave her critically low on time-outs if Opal brought out another surprise. Opal’s Primarene stretched, as if it too had grown drowsy from the song, creating a ball of energy in front of its mouth that quickly grew into a full-fledged beam that went straight for Lev.

Somehow, _somehow_ this didn’t wake him up, and as Monika desperately tried to figure out a solution and work out a plan, Primarene cut the middleman and began causing an uproar, practically shaking Lev around like a pinball. This forced him to wake up and react violently, shocking Primarene again with a massive explosion of electricity. Primarene recoiled, falling flat on its back as Lev prepared another assault, but before he could do so, the referees whistled. Maybe Primarene had been paralyzed? Monika couldn’t tell. Lev rolled back, a huge smile on his face as the referees debated with one another, with another official looking over Opal’s Primarene.

After several minutes, accompanied by an official timeout that didn’t penalize either Monika or Opal, the referees came back and judged that Primarene was unable to battle further. Opal was allowed to withdraw her Pokemon, and she considered her options carefully. If Monika was right, she had at least three other Pokemon left, but the order was up in the air. Only two timeouts left, too. If she mishandled them, then she’d be at a disadvantage.

Opal finally decided to send out a Flunkifer, almost exactly like Monika expected. She let out a slow breath, nodding. Alright, not exactly the _best_ of matchups, but she could work with this. Lev,” Monika ordered as combat resumed, “Attack Pattern Nine!” As soon as the last syllable left her lips, Lev began to move, striking at Flunkifer with a high-speed rolling attack, shocking it with zaps of electricity along the way. Flunkifer reacted by kicking up an intense sandstorm, obscuring Monika and Lev’s vision of the battlefield. So, _that_ was Opal’s plan. Trickery, delays, and affecting the field in her favor. Monika understood it now – she did everything she could to confuse and disorient her opponent.

“Attack Pattern Two!” Monika called out. Time to change it up – Lev put up a barrier to protect himself from further sandstorm damage, charging up a beam of electricity and firing it at Flunkifer with deadly precision. This didn’t do much, though – Flunkifer took the hit like a champion and came around with a deadly attack with sharpened rocks, keeping Lev in place with its fake jaw and cutting at him with the rocks. The pain was apparent on Lev’s face, and soon the referees called for his mandatory withdrawal.

Alright, so that put that idea out of the water. Time to brute force this again – no time to waste on switching out and timeouts. Kaid’s time to shine. She could vaguely hear the announcer talking about how Monika’s Metagross was a new appearance and doubly notable for its “shiny appearance,” but she couldn’t focus on that right now. Opal had to be beaten here and now with Kaid, or not at all. “Kaid, initiate Attack Pattern Two!” Faster than she could call it out, Kaid began rattling the turf, sending an earthquake right underneath Flunkifer’s feet as he stomped his legs into the ground. Flunkifer tried to dodge the attack, gearing up for an underhanded punch as it braved the earthquake to get at Kaid, actually succeeding in landing the hit.

Kaid reeled from the hit, shaking himself as if he had just been discombobulated for a short time. Just as quickly as the hit had come in, he recovered and went right back to attacking, cocking back one of his legs and slamming it right into Flunkifer. It bounced around on the turf, trying to find purchase on the ground to steady itself as another punch came in, this time fired almost like a meteor. Flunkifer, somehow, managed to dodge the attack and chomped down hard on Kaid’s leg, causing him to react immediately. He slammed the leg into the ground, acting more like he was shaking off a bug rather than knocking Flunkifer out.

Whistle blow – Flunkifer, now limp on the field, was called as unable to battle further. Okay, good, next step. Monika practically hopped back and forth, anxious for Opal to get the _fucking_ show on the road and finish this battle. Once again, she took her sweet time, sending out a Togekiss after an agonizingly long time. “Kaid, Attack Pattern One!” Monika called. A roar from Kaid accompanied a bright flash of blue light that struck Togekiss almost the second the whistles blew again. Togekiss barley stood a chance as Kaid continued to assault it with the attacks, until it just… disappeared. Where the fuck did it go?

Monika soon found out – Togekiss had gone to the heights, rearing back and unleashing a pillar of flame that struck Kaid almost directly on the head. Monika could feel the flames lick at her from where she was, again shielding herself as Kaid maneuvered out of the way. He didn’t utilize another flash of light, instead preferring to use psychic energy to hold Togekiss in place, slamming it down on the ground with brutal force and closing in before it could recover. Thundering stomps followed Kaid as he charged in, delivering another brutal blow that knocked Togekiss out.

She sighed, allowing herself to smile for the first time this match. Kaid had performed beautifully, and Monika knew that Opal was down to only one Pokemon, one that by all accounts couldn’t have anything up its sleeve. She rolled her shoulders back, ready to see this fight through to the end. Opal sent out a Pokusan for her final Pokemon. Good, time to end this once and for all. Monika scarcely needed to give the order – Kaid knew what to do innately, no doubt having already analyzed Opal’s Pokusan and identifying weak points to go for. A flurry of punches, mostly delivered before Pokusan could respond in kind – enveloped Opal’s Pokemon, and within seconds, the match had been called in Monika’s favor.

She turned to face the crowd as Opal retrieved her Pokemon, taking a deep breath as the lights shined down on her, obscuring her view of the crowd. A lot of them were cheering, for _her_ she realized. So then, the league was right – she _did_ have real fans here in Galar, people who were willing to pay good money to see her battle. Zoya crossed over into the turf, proudly nodding the whole way. Opal soon joined them, approaching slowly.

“Two remain, Challenger Monika,” she said, chuckling as she produced the Fairy Badge for her. “Raihan and Piers are not pushovers, love.”

“So I’ve heard,” she said, nodding in respect. “Thank you for the battle, Leader Opal.”

“I will be watching your career with great interest,” Opal said, leaning on her parasol. “Now, look good for the cameras, this is going on your highlight reel.”


	17. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika reaches Spikemuth, expecting to fight Piers.

Monika approached Spikemuth late at night, having spent most of the day training Pokemon, as well as traveling to Spikemuth in the first place. The tall buildings concealed the interior depths of the city, and lights shined constantly in the alleys and side streets, and police sirens occasionally echoed off in the distance. The entire city seemed dirty, like someone had forgotten about it and left it to sit abandoned. She had spent a lot of time preparing to battle Piers – and Marnie, indirectly – by engaging wild Pokemon in the Wild Area as well as rehearsal matches with Zoya and Adriane. Through just that, she had been able to evolve her Brimova into a Silembrim, electing to nickname her Ashe because it “felt right.” Ashe, along with her Forstellka, formed the vanguard behind her strategy heading into the battle with Piers.

Of course, it being late at night as they came in didn’t seem to dampen Marnie’s enthusiasm. She met her practically right at the gates, as if she had been waiting for Monika to arrive in the same spot ever since. “You came!” Marnie shouted, running up to her with a huge smile on her face. “I was wondering when you’d get here!”

“You know how it is,” Monika said, shrugging. “I can’t go into this unprepared.”

Marnie giggled, an impossibly cute thing that just made Monika smile. Oh God, she could already feel Zoya, Adriane and Minh smirking behind her. “Well, c’mon then,” Marnie said. “Let me get ya set up. Tomorrow, you and I can register and I’ll show you around Spikemuth, yeah?”

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” Monika said, immediately regretting it. _God,_ if they weren’t practically swooning in her place already, Monika could feel them staring her down now.

Marnie led them enthusiastically through the rough streets of Spikemuth, where people and Pokemon alike glared at them for the apparent crime of daring to enter their city. She showed them every corner of the dilapidated town, from the places where people dared not stray to the brightest clubs that hosted remixes of Piers’ most popular songs. The hotel was a relatively decent place, all things considered, where the staff was composed almost entirely of League officials that nodded politely to both Marnie and Monika as they came in, immediately arranging rooms for them. Monika was glad for the reprieve, eager to get into her room. She had been on the road practically all day, and being able to sit on an actual bed and take her boots off sounded like the best thing in the world right now.

Of course, retreating to the safety of the hotel room did not last for long. She kicked off her boots, watching them fall to the floor in a clatter as her feet were finally released from their strict prison as Zoya, Minh and Adriane flipped through channels, trying to find something to watch.

“So, are you gonna go talk to her?” Adriane asked, half-watching and half-reading a book.

“Talk to who?” Monika asked, a wave of relief washing over her as she stretched her feet out.

“Who do you think, dumbass?” Zoya countered. “Marnie, of course. She’s literally in the next room.”

Monika paused, quite literally freezing in place. If that was true, then… well, if she was going to have this battle with Marnie, then she’d have to talk to her at some point. And it had been a while since they had seen each other… it _would_ be awful nice to talk to her in person again. She blinked, realizing that despite everything she had said in Ballonlea, she had missed Marnie a lot. Training had taken up a lot of her time in the Wild Area, and the reception there as spotty on the best of days, so… she really hadn’t talked to Marnie much at all this entire week, and Monika realized that it felt like there was something missing all those days.

Without even trying to cover her actions, Monika put on some far more comfortable shoes and headed down the hall, her heart racing as she knocked on the door to Marnie’s room. When Marnie opened the door, she had discarded her jacket, only wearing her dress and choker, a wide smile crossing her face. “Monika! What’s up?”

Monika’s mouth suddenly became dry as the desert of Afghanistan, and she blinked, trying to figure out what plausible reason she could have for wandering over here. “I, uh…” she muttered, completely at a loss for words. “Um… I wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay,” Marnie said, waving her in. “What about?”

Marnie’s Morpeko sat on her bed, happily munching away on what looked like some kind of nut. A small pile of nuts and seeds surrounded it, making Monika shudder. She couldn’t imagine having to clean all that up. Marnie herself sat on the other bed – apparently, two-bed rooms were the standard for all challengers here – and patted down on it, inviting Monika to sit next to her. Hesitantly, she took the offer, settling in next to Marnie. She couldn’t possibly just sit here quietly and let this go, right? That’d be absurd. She had to say something. But what? And _how?_

As she wrestled with these absurd feelings, Marnie’s hand slowly crept towards Monika’s, until she had put her hand entire over Monika’s. _Stay calm,_ she thought to herself. _Maybe it’s nothing._

“So… what did you want to talk about?” Marnie asked.

 _Right._ She had never actually answered that, had she? Monika coughed, not wanting to even attempt to move her hand out from underneath Marnie’s. “Uh… yes, I… so, about the battle you wanted…”

Marnie laughed, just ever so slightly squeezing Monika’s hand. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. We’re both pretty wired, you know? I mean, I gotta fight my own brother tomorrow, and you’re up for a tough fight yourself. Maybe it’d be better if we took a break.”

Monika’s breathing became rapid and shallow, like she had just ran a marathon. _It was now or never._ “Marnie?”

“Yeah?”

“I… I hope this isn’t weird, but… I really like you.”

Alright, can’t unring that bell. Monika immediately regretted ever saying anything, feeling her cheeks heat up. What if she had been wrong about it all? What she had misread every single sign like with dozens of girls before, and-

“I’m really glad you said that,” Marnie said quietly, her face beet red when Monika turned to look. “I was kinda afraid you didn’t like me back.”

They stared at each other, exchanging a nervous laugh as they mirrored one another in brushing back errant locks of hair, and for a moment, Monika felt like this was _right._ She looked at Marnie, at her amazingly cute smile, her blue eyes that were deeper than any ocean, and felt as if nothing would ever go wrong as long as she was here, with Marnie.

“So…” Monika asked, blushing so much she scarcely knew what to do with herself. “What, uh, what do you want to do?”

Marnie leaned on Monika’s shoulder, sighing peacefully. “How about we go out tomorrow? There’s a cool place I think you’d like. D’you like dancing?”

“I mean… I used to do ballroom dancing,” Monika said.

“S’abit different than that,” Marnie said, laughing. “I’ll teach you, don’t worry. Dinner and dancing, then?”

She found herself smiling wide, her heart already beating in double-time at the mere prospect of it. An actual _date_ with Marnie. Monika wasn’t sure what to do now – should she hug her, or just say bye? Since there really wasn’t much else to do now and she was sure if she sat here and talked to Marnie, she’d call off the entire idea of the date.

“Well, uh,” Monika said, hoping that she could extract herself from this situation easily, “I… have to get back to my room, so… see you tomorrow? We’ll go out after we register?”

“Yeah,” Marnie replied, nodding. “See you then, and say hi to your friends for me!”

Monika laughed nervously, practically leaping off the bed. Jesus Christ, she had been in fucking _combat._ Why was talking to Marnie so hard? “Heh, uh, yeah, will do. Well, see you then!”

Marnie didn’t seem to notice – or care – that Monika had made a quick escape, and almost half as fast as she had headed to Marnie’s room in the first place, Monika evacuated and retreated to her own room, making sure she turned her mind back to using German before even uttering a worn. If the walls were half as thin as she thought, Marnie’d be able to hear everything she said. She closed the door behind her quietly, making sure not to utter even a peep until she was sure it was entirely, 100% shut.

“So?” Zoya asked, glancing over at her. “What’d she say?”

“I… I have a date with her,” Monika said quietly, creeping into the room hesitantly. All at once, her friends stopped what they were doing. They looked at each other, then right to Monika, each one with a confused, almost skeptical look on their face.

“You’re serious?” Minh asked.

Monika blinked, tilting her head. “Why would I joke about that?”

Shrugging, Adriane closed her book, suddenly very interested in this. “Well, there was that one time you had that internet girlfriend who broke up with you every time you let her die in a game…”

“Okay, that was different, shut up,” Monika shot back, jabbing a finger at her. “Everyone knew she was joking.”

“I don’t think I did when you told me about it,” Minh said. “Well, anyway, so you have a date? What are you guys going to do?

Monika laughed nervously, relaying exactly how overwhelmed she had been and how she had confessed everything, and Marnie’s subsequent proposal to see each other after. They were thrilled – overly thrilled, if you asked Monika – for her regardless, interrogating her on where Marnie wanted to take her and when she was going to meet her.

Monika paused, blinking rapidly as a problem smacked her right in the face. “What the fuck should I wear?”

* * *

The night was cool, despite the anxiety that was plaguing Monika’s heart and making her feel like she was overheating and about to pop out of her skin at any second. Had she registered to battle Piers? Oh wait, right, yeah, she had, and almost immediately after Marnie had dragged her to a local restaurant, raving about how good the food was the entire way. Monika decided to play it safe, ordering the restaurant’s famous beer-battered fish and chips instead of trying anything adventurous – there’d be plenty of time for that on another day.

Fortunately for her, Minh, Zoya and Adriane has helped her answer – very quickly in fact – the question of what to wear for tonight, mostly just blue jeans, comfortable shoes, and black polo for tonight. Nobody thought she needed to get too fancy, and Monika didn’t _want_ to be overly dressed up anyway – after all, Marnie had only really added black leggings to her usual outfit.

“You look really nice with your hair down,” Marnie commented.

“Oh, uh, thank you.” _Should she compliment her too? Ask her about herself?_ How had Monika ever done this before? “So… lived here your whole life, huh?”

“Yup,” Marnie said, nodding as she sipped on some complementary water. “I didn’t really go much of anywhere else ‘till last year. Didn’t need to, you know?”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Monika replied. “I don’t think I left my hometown until I joined the Army.”

“I heard about that! What’d you do? All the League articles ever say is you went to Afghanistan.”

She paused, blinking as she tried to figure out how to word it in a way that one, made sense in English, and two, would be understood by her. Marnie didn’t look like the kind of girl that understood the intricacies of operating an infantry fighting vehicle, and Monika wasn’t sure if she could correctly translate much of anything from German in a way that wouldn’t litter her speech with the technical German terms. “Uh… I… drove a car around.”

Marnie blinked, her face falling as if she had expected a _lot_ more. “That’s… it?”

“I mean… I can say more but… I don’t know how to say it in English.”

“Oh, okay,” Marnie said, nodding slightly. “I don’t know how you do it. I could never try to take on a League and speak another language at the same time.”

Monika shrugged, quietly thanking the waiter when their food came out. “I mean, it’s a challenge but… all my Pokemon are trained in German, so I can just go back to that when I battle.”

“That’s cool!” Marnie said, smiling wide. “So they don’t know English at all?”

“My Bronzong and… uh, Metagross probably do, but the rest of them? No.”

Marnie wagged her fork at Monika, as if she had unlocked some deep, dark secret. “So _that’s_ why I couldn’t figure out what you’d been saying. I tried to watch your battles and read your lips. Guess I ought to pick up German, huh?”

“Maybe,” Monika said, smiling. The rest of dinner was a blur – she and Marnie talked a lot about their families, what growing up in Galar and Germany was like for them, and the struggles they had faced since “growing up,” Monika what with her untreated PTSD (not that she worded it that way) and Marnie feeling like she could never live up to her brother’s legacy.

After dinner, Marnie dragged her to the club. The music reminded her of a song she had once listened to, and with bright neon and flashing spotlights blinding her view, Monika followed Marnie onto the dance floor. A crowd of people were already on it, and Marnie had to teach Monika how to actually dance on it (which really just amounted to Marnie shouting “Just vibe!” above the music). On its own, this normally would have made Monika want to run out and never look back.

And yet, she didn’t want to.

Monika “danced” with Marnie, more interested in watching her dance than actually trying to match her. Something about all this just felt right, like she had reunited with an old friend after years apart. Monika couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this comfortable with _anyone,_ let alone on a date with them. Part of her didn’t want the night to end. Part of her wanted to tell Marnie she wanted to live forever with her. Another part just wanted to watch Marnie lose herself to the music, marvel at how easily she changed from serious, no-nonsense battler to just someone having the time of their life.

Ever since arriving in Galar, this had been the best night of Monika’s life.


End file.
